The Simplification Instinct
Why rookies simplify and others complicate
read time 2.5 minutes
Someone I was coaching recently asked me how to answer a question they kept getting stuck on: “How do you work cross-functionally?”
They’d been asked variations of it multiple times. How do you collaborate? How do you handle disagreements with engineering? How do you influence stakeholders? Each time, they tried to come up with a different answer because the questions sounded different. Each time, they left feeling unsure.
I’m sitting there thinking: that’s such a simple question. But I let them explain. And in listening, I realized where the real issue was.
We spend so much energy trying to make things sound complex that we miss what’s actually being asked.
I walked them through it. Cross-functional collaboration? They want to know if you can bring people along, resolve conflicts, and keep things moving when there are disagreements. That’s it. You’ve done all of this - I see it on your resume and when we talk.
They paused and said: “You’re right. I have everything. I don’t know why I overcomplicate it.”
This isn’t just one person. I’ve noticed it with almost everyone I coach.
Earlier in our sessions, before any mock interviews, we just talk through their real experience and examples. Most people are clear, articulate, and their stories are all there. Their examples make sense and the judgment comes through naturally.
The moment it becomes a real or mock interview, things change. They start adding complexity, layering detail, and explaining things in elaborate ways when the real value is explaining simply.
Here’s the thing: if you’re explaining complicated things in a complicated manner, you probably don’t understand them simply yourself. Real understanding looks like simplification.
I get why people do it… they fear sounding dumb. They think they’ll leave out important details or assume the senior person interviewing them cares about all the nuances. We think showing our work proves we’re thorough.
But it’s the opposite. As you grow in your career, the simpler your communication needs to be. Senior leaders don’t have time for the weeds, the engineering details, the edge cases. They need the principle understood, the action taken, the outcome delivered.
Would you rather hear overwhelming details you can’t parse, or a clear story? A concept you can remember?
Think about it like a book. If a story is so detailed and convoluted that you can’t follow it, you put it down. Communication works the same way. Details matter, but at the right time and place where they add value - not extra pages of text or extra minutes of talking.
What actually works - in interviews, in stakeholder conversations, in product strategy - is finding the simple truth underneath all the complexity and leading with that.
Simplicity leaves room for intrigue. It invites follow-up questions instead of overwhelming people upfront.
Children simplify because they’re trying to understand. Rookies simplify because they’re trying to learn. Adults complicate because they’re trying to sound credible.
The best PMs I know protect that rookie instinct. They ask the obvious questions and push for clarity when everyone else is adding nuance. Not because they can’t handle complexity, but because simplicity is what moves people.
In my own work, whether it’s coaching someone through their career or aligning teams around a product vision, the moments that create breakthrough aren’t when I explain all the details. They’re when I find the few words that make things click.
Because simplicity is what actually moves people forward.
— Akash