The Most Important Word We Forget to Use in Leadership

How “yet” reshapes growth, learning, and leadership.

If you have ever felt out of options as a leader, a coach, or a human trying to grow, this one is for you.

A medical student and quarterback of the football team, living his best college life, suddenly became devastatingly sick. Every treatment that had ever been tested for his rare disease had been tried and failed. They were out of ideas and he was dying. (Stick with me, it get's lighter.)

He sat in the weight of the doctor's words, and realized there were no more treatments tested for his disease... yet. In reality, there are more than four thousand FDA-approved drugs designed for other diseases, and perhaps there was one out there for his disease that hadn't been tested yet.

One small word cracked the door open. It did not promise certainty. It did not erase the fear. But it shifted the landscape from “this is the end” to “there's more we don't know.” With that sliver of possibility, he and his team continued the search and found one of those four thousand drugs. A medication no one had ever used for his disease. And it worked!

I heard this story 12 years later and he's helped countless other patients by recognizing he didn't need to create a whole new drug, he just needed to be open.

So what about us?

As we lead, coach and develop others, most of us are fighting quieter, everyday versions of “there is no hope for this part of me”.

I am not a morning person.

I am not good at focusing.

I am not a great listener.

I am not a confident presenter.

I am not a person who sticks to routines.

I am just not wired that way.

We say these things like they are final diagnoses. And over time, they quietly shape how we lead, how we coach, and what we believe is possible.

From Insight to Action

1. Consider for yourself. Notice what comes up for you as you read.

What is your “yet”?

What part of you isn’t where you want it to be… yet?

What possibility opens when you stay curious about what you don’t know… yet?

This shift matters as leadership growth rarely comes from having all the answers. It comes from staying open to new possibilities.

2. Write it down. Don’t let it stay abstract. Write it down.

Leave a comment or email me at brooke@45degrees.org with your thoughts. Naming it creates momentum. Sharing it creates accountability and builds community.

If you’ve made it this far, take that as a sign. Reflection is movement. And growth is already underway.

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About the Story

This story is about David Fajgenbaum and was shared on the Armchair Expert podcast. If you would like to learn more, check out his book Chasing My Cure or his organization Every Cure.