If You Walked Around With a Warning Sign, What Would It Say?

Every two weeks at PayNW, during our all-hands meetings, we do breakout rooms.

Partly because we are remote. Partly because relationships matter. And partly because if people only ever talk to the same five coworkers, things get weird.

So we randomly throw people into small groups with coworkers from different departments and give them a thought-provoking question.

A few weeks ago, the question was this:

If you walked around wearing a warning sign on your shirt, what would it say?

Simple enough.

Also mildly terrifying.

As it turns out, asking people to publicly self-reflect before 9:00 a.m. creates a fascinating mix of vulnerability, overthinking, and comedy.

Some people answered immediately.

Others looked like they suddenly needed a few more years of therapy before participating.

And then, because apparently this is who we are now, many of us went to ChatGPT.

I asked:

“If I walked around with a brutally honest warning label on my shirt, what would it say?”

The answer that stopped me in my tracks?

“Confuses capability with capacity.”

Oof.

Because if I am being honest, that one hit a little too close to home.

And then ChatGPT kept going.

Which, if I am honest, felt a little unnecessary. 😅

A few of the others:

⚠️ WARNING: Solves problems at 100 mph and may forget to tell you she changed directions three exits ago.

⚠️ WARNING: Fiercely loyal, relentlessly curious, and occasionally unaware that not everyone wants honest feedback before breakfast.

⚠️ WARNING: If you mention an idea within earshot, there is a non-zero chance you will be leading it by next Tuesday.

Funny?

Yes.

Uncomfortably accurate?

Also yes.

But the one I kept coming back to was this:

“Confuses capability with capacity.”

Because just because I can carry a lot does not always mean I should.

Just because I can solve the problem, take the meeting, help the person, join the project, tackle the challenge, and somehow still believe there is time for “one more thing” does not mean that is sustainable.

And the more I sat with it, the more I realized this exercise was not really about funny warning labels.

It was about self-awareness.

Because here is the thing:

The people closest to us probably already know our warning signs.

The people we work with.

The people we lead.

The people we live with.

They already know the quirks, patterns, tendencies, and blind spots.

They know who gets quiet when stressed.

Who processes out loud.

Who moves fast.

Who overthinks.

Who needs details.

Who unintentionally creates urgency just by existing.

Who says “I am fine” while clearly being one minor inconvenience away from becoming a TED Talk on overwhelm.

The problem is not that we have warning signs.

We all do.

The problem is that we rarely talk about them.

And I think leadership gets better when we do.

Imagine how much friction we could avoid if we understood each other better.

If we said things like:

• “I move fast. Slow me down if I skip steps.”
• “I ask a lot of questions. It is curiosity, not criticism.”
• “I need time to process before I respond.”
• “If I seem intense, I am probably excited, not mad.”
• “I tend to confuse capability with capacity.”

That last one?

Still working on it.

But this little exercise made me realize something important:

Self-awareness might be one of the most underrated leadership skills we have.

Because when people understand how to work with us, instead of constantly trying to decode us, relationships get stronger.

Communication gets easier.

Trust grows faster.

And misunderstandings shrink.

So now I am curious.

If you walked around with a warning sign on your shirt… what would it say?

If you want to try it, here is the exact ChatGPT prompt:

“Based on everything you know about me, if I walked around wearing a brutally honest warning label on my shirt, what would it say? Take into consideration strengths, blind spots, personality tendencies, leadership style, communication habits, and the things people closest to me should probably know. Be insightful, slightly funny, and uncomfortably accurate. Keep it to one sentence in true warning sign style.”

Fair warning: You may learn something the people closest to you already knew.

 Gratefully,