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Re:Ask HN: How to be less opinionated? by roenxi on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @08:43AM (#33007216)
> However, growing in career, I feel my opinions not taken as seriously because the perception of their weakness.

Hot tip, if you do have a problem it isn't the strength of your opinions and probably isn't your ability to express them either. Assess the situation to see if one of these 3 things hold:

1) You don't have a lot of experience in the domains in question.

2) The conversation is drifting away from how to reliably make/keep the situation good.

3) Multiple people don't see the things you think are obvious and would benefit from someone stating them - but you're focusing the conversation on things you are uncertain about rather than things you understand well.

Picking a workplace classic, someone really confidently starts advocating that we need to migrate the database from Postgres to NoSQLDb. And who knows? Maybe they're right. If you want the play for an unopinionated person it is to loudly say "wow, this is risky but might have a big payoff!", and get a feel for the boss' appetite for risk. If low, talk up all the problems with NoSQL databases and give him cover to say no, or alternative low-risk strategies to try and fix the problem. If high, start talking about ways to embrace the change while keeping risks low (+ make a friend of the NoSQL guy because you're supporting him).

Bam, everyone is a winner, particularly the dude with no opinion. The trap that was set is trying to take a strong position on something you don't understand. Workplace success comes from making the room better just by being there.

Re:Ask HN: How to be less opinionated? by tacitusarc on Thursday September 29, 2022 @01:46AM (#33016897)
I think being a sycophant is rarely a good long term strategy. More importantly, I don’t think it’s an ethical one.
Re:Ask HN: How to be less opinionated? by roenxi on Thursday September 29, 2022 @05:52AM (#33018348)
I'm intrigued. Why do you think that is being a sycophant? Which bit do you not like?
Re:Ask HN: How to be less opinionated? by tacitusarc on Thursday September 29, 2022 @11:03AM (#33021700)
Advocating a particular position based on how you think your boss will react is the behavior of a sycophant and unprofessional. If you have a technical role, it’s your responsibility to advocate based on technical reasons. If you are highly uncertain, either do more research and experimentation or refrain from adding your opinion.
Re:Ask HN: How to be less opinionated? by roenxi on Friday September 30, 2022 @08:22AM (#33033904)
The premise is not having a strong technical position either way. It is advocating a consistent position - we should be effective at whatever we do next.

You'll notice that both scenarios involve a careful treatment of the risks involved, there is no point in looking for opportunities if the person responsible for choosing the level of risk tolerance doesn't want to tolerate the risk of looking. The only thing being modulated is enthusiasm for leaping into an uncertain situation.