Normalize the messy process, not just the polished result
Let people see the iterations and dead ends behind a successful outcome.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Let people see the iterations and dead ends behind a successful outcome.
- Why it works: When only polished results are visible, observers attribute success entirely to native talent or luck, which either creates envy or makes the person feel unrelatable. Showing the messy middle (the drafts, the wrong turns) reattributes success to effort and persistence, making the person both more relatable and more instructive as a model — learning is increased when the process is visible.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Performing messiness by describing struggle without ever getting to the learning — which reads as wallowing rather than growth and erodes confidence rather than building connection.
Why it works
When only polished results are visible, observers attribute success entirely to native talent or luck, which either creates envy or makes the person feel unrelatable. Showing the messy middle (the drafts, the wrong turns) reattributes success to effort and persistence, making the person both more relatable and more instructive as a model — learning is increased when the process is visible.
How to do it
- 1Share "before/during" not just "after" — a rough draft, a discarded approach, a wrong turn.
- 2Name what you tried that didn’t work before describing what did.
- 3In presentations and reports, include a brief "what we learned" alongside the result.
What the evidence says
ObservationalResearch on learning from models suggests that process-visible models (showing errors and corrections) can be more effective than error-free mastery models, because observers feel less intimidated and learn error-correction strategies alongside the skill.
Honest caveat: Process-model research is primarily in educational learning contexts; effects in professional likeability and influence contexts are inferred rather than directly studied.
Common mistake
Performing messiness by describing struggle without ever getting to the learning — which reads as wallowing rather than growth and erodes confidence rather than building connection.
IX Coach tracks your learning loops across sessions, helping you articulate the pattern — try, learn, adjust — that makes your process visible and relatable to others.
Practice this with IX Coach →