The Perimeter: Creating an environment where exploration never stops

“As the area of our knowledge grows, so too does the perimeter of our ignorance.”

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

I heard this quote a few months ago while listening to a presentation on radically accessible and wildly engaging places for all ages. It stood out to me for a few reasons — firstly, my love for astronomy; secondly, how true the words are; but ultimately because it’s a reminder that leadership today requires something very different from the traditional expectations before.

Traditional leadership usually celebrated the person with the most experience or age, often also the most assertive and assured person. There was a status quo, and that was rewarded and maintained. Coming into this programme, this was what I struggled with the most — the idea that I was not ‘traditionally’ a leader.

I don't know everything. In comparison to colleagues’ experience, I've only been in the workplace for what feels like five minutes. In my limited professional experience, I don’t see people like me reflected in senior management either. So, do I really have what's needed to be a leader?

But I think today’s workplaces are evolving. Leading people means empowering them. When we recognise the limits of our own knowledge, we should stop and make space for others. Over the last few years, there's been a shift in what the status quo is.

Leading people isn’t about being in the centre of every room as a pansophical figure. It’s about guiding yourself and those around you while appreciating everyone's true value. Our knowledge can only expand as far as our willingness to collaborate. As Aristotle said, “the leader is only as great as the sum of their team,” or something along those lines…

As safe and secure as we feel in our knowledge — and as anxious and fearful as we are of the unknown — the sweet spot, I believe, is the perimeter. The uncertain edge of what we haven’t yet figured out and all the things we will. Leaders that lean into this uncertainty don’t see ignorance or naivety as weakness, but as a chance to learn, innovate, and grow.

My takeaway from being on this cohort of the Housing LIN Future Leaders Programme has been that to lead well is not to know everything; it’s not even to be able to read people like open books. It’s to curate individuality and difference, and to create an environment where exploration never stops.

The more I learn about modern leadership, the surer I am that curiosity, reflection, understanding, and adaptability matter more to people than having all the answers.

Imposter syndrome is a lot more common than people admit and recognising that has helped me see it less a barrier, but as a 'buy one get one free' with growth. If leadership is a thing that lives at the perimeter of our ignorance, then feeling uncertain isn’t a sign I don’t belong, but a sign I’m right where I should be.

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Anisha’s blog is one of many by members of the 5th cohort of the Housing LIN’s Future Leaders Programme who have agreed to share what they learned on the 2025/26 programme. We are excited to publish these ahead of recruiting for the 2026/27 intake onto our Future Leaders programme, sponsored by Sovereign Network Group.

And, if you found this of interest, do check out the other blogs in this series, along with the TikTok videos recorded, which will be available here.