When you find yourself in a new work environment, it’s tempting to want to prove yourself as soon as possible. In discussions or meetings, you may hear about a problem that sounds familiar to something you’ve experienced before. You’re itching to dive right in and give a solution to show that you have a valuable contribution. I would caution you to hold back a bit and get more context. There is no harm is attentive listening, in fact, it can only help. Often you will find that there are subtleties to the problem that make it quite different to your previous experience and your solution may not be the answer.

Giving your opinion before you have all the context won’t make the best impression and will force you to have to work even harder later to prove yourself. So take some time to calm the ego and listen carefully. You will be rewarded.