Conversation takeaway
You’ve Built Before. You Can Build Again.
An unexpected setback can make experience feel suddenly distant. You know what you have done before, but the problem in front of you can still feel overwhelming.
In his January 2023 Fireside Chat conversation, Tomás Maldonado described one of his biggest leadership challenges. He had joined the NFL and worked through his first Super Bowl from the inside. Within weeks of that event, the only two leaders he had at the time both resigned: one on a Friday, the other on a Monday.
He recalled feeling shell-shocked. The question was immediate and practical: how was he going to do this now?
A reminder from someone who knew his history
Maldonado described bringing that frustration home and talking with his wife. In his retelling, she reminded him that he had already built the security program at his previous company from nothing.
“You’ve done this before.”His wife’s reminder, as recalled by Tomás Maldonado in the conversation
She then moved from reassurance to action: write a job description, put it out there, and consider the people who might want to work with him again. Her response connected his previous experience to a concrete next step.
The exchange does not provide a detailed account of the eventual hiring or rebuilding process. Its value is the moment of perspective: a trusted person helped him remember the experience he could bring to a difficult situation.
Use experience as evidence
The title of this feature is an editorial takeaway from that exchange. Having built something before does not make the next challenge easy or guarantee the same result. It does give you specific experience to examine: decisions you made, people you worked with, and lessons you can apply.
For a leader facing a sudden gap, that can help turn a broad feeling of uncertainty into a more focused question: what do I already know how to do, and what needs to happen first?
When the setback overshadows your experience
Losing both leaders within days left Maldonado questioning how he would move forward. His wife’s reminder brought him back to something he already knew: he had built a security program before.
That did not solve the staffing problem. It reminded him that he had experience to draw on as he faced it.
Sometimes, before you can work through the next challenge, you need someone to remind you what you have already worked through.
When a setback makes you doubt yourself, what experience could someone remind you of?