There are mentors who guide you gently.
And there are mentors who hold up a mirror you didn’t ask for and show you something you didn’t expect to see.

Years ago, I sat down with someone I respected hugely — a mentor who had always been a calm sounding board, a source of perspective, and someone who understood the realities of consulting, leadership, and career decisions far better than I did at the time.

I went into the conversation expecting reassurance.

I walked out of it changed.

‘Why are you so sure?’

I remember explaining — proudly — a set of decisions I’d made. Career moves. Project choices. Personal priorities. They weren’t reckless decisions; in fact, I thought they were incredibly logical. I’d mapped everything out, justified each step, and presented my thinking like a well-constructed business case.

When I finished, my mentor didn’t say, “Great work.”
They didn’t say, “I agree,” or “Good decision.”

Instead, they paused for a long moment, leaned back, and said quietly:

“Why are you so sure?”

It cut straight through me.

Not because I was wrong — in fact, they made that clear. My decisions weren’t unreasonable or misguided. The challenge wasn’t about the choices themselves.

It was about how I had reached them.

The Real Question Behind the Question

They asked me something I’ve never forgotten:

“Have you genuinely looked at this from both sides — or are you just trying to reinforce what you already decided?”

And suddenly, the conversation shifted.

We weren’t discussing the outcome anymore.
We were dissecting my process:

• Had I explored alternative scenarios?

• Had I challenged my own narrative?

• Had I tested the assumptions beneath the decision?

• Had I considered the implications, not just the justification?

• Was I evaluating my reasoning — or defending it?

I realised I was doing what many smart people do without noticing:

I was making good decisions, but not interrogating them.

I was confident — but not curious.

The Discomfort That Became a Breakthrough

I won’t pretend it was a pleasant conversation.
It was uncomfortable. Confronting. Humbling.

But it was also the most important mentoring moment of my career.

In that room, I learned the difference between:

certainty and clarity
confidence and understanding
a well-argued decision and a well-examined one

My mentor wasn’t challenging the decision.
They were challenging the thinking habit behind it.

That distinction changed everything.

What That Conversation Taught Me

1. Certainty can be a warning sign

Confidence is useful. Certainty is dangerous.
The moment you stop questioning your own assumptions is the moment your blind spots start to grow.

2. A strong argument doesn’t make a decision right

I could rationalise my choice brilliantly. That didn’t mean I’d tested it. Many leaders confuse articulation with evaluation.

3. The best mentors don’t agree with you — they challenge you

Agreement is comfortable. Growth rarely is.
This mentor didn’t validate me. They expanded me.

4. You don’t know if a decision is good until you’ve argued the opposite

Today, whenever I make a major decision, I deliberately challenge myself:

• If I had to prove this decision wrong, how would I do it?

• What would someone who completely disagreed with me say?

• What if the opposite choice is the better one?

It forces perspective.

5. Leadership requires the courage to question your own narrative

Not just for yourself, but for your teams.
When leaders stop looking at both sides, organisations drift into dangerous certainty.

How It Changed My Consulting Career

After that conversation, my entire approach shifted.

When I design operating models, challenge client assumptions, shape programmes, or build software solutions, I don’t just ask:

“Is this right?”

I ask:

• “What might we be missing?”

• “What would this look like from someone else’s perspective?”

• “What assumptions are hidden in this request?”

• “What happens if we flip the logic?”

• “What evidence contradicts the view we’re taking?”

Clients often think I’m probing their ideas.
In truth, I’m applying the discipline that was taught to me in that one conversation.

It made me a better consultant, a better leader, and a more grounded founder.

Looking Back

That mentor didn’t tell me what to do.
They didn’t push me toward a different choice.

They simply asked the question that great mentors ask at exactly the right moment:

“Are you thinking clearly — or just confidently?”

It’s a question I still ask myself today.
And a question I now challenge others with when it matters most.

Sometimes the conversations that unsettle you are the ones that unlock you.