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Judgment is the core of your role
Your judgment defines your job; it's the primary responsibility from the start, not a senior privilege.Taste is a muscle, not a gift
Taste grows through constant observation and practice, just like any other skill.Speak up despite the risk of being wrong
Sharing opinions, even if you might be wrong, is better than silence and helps you gain trust.Listen to your 'flinch' and articulate it
The gut feeling of 'flinch' signals your taste; articulating it makes you influential.Many juniors quietly think their job is simply to do what they’re told—and do it well—and that having opinions about the work is somehow outside their pay grade.
Let me put this as delicately, and as firmly, as I know how: the whole point of your job is your judgment. Knowing what is good, and why, is not a privilege that comes with seniority. It’s part of the job from day one.
Why You Should Trust Your Judgment Early in Your Career
What’s intimidating is the myth that taste is innate, that some people simply “have an eye” while the rest of us don’t. That’s false. Taste is built through close and constant observation of the work around us, often without us even realising it. It is a muscle and, like any other muscle, it grows when you exercise it. 
So use it with purpose. Stop scrolling and start looking. When an advert, a brand or a piece of design stops you in your tracks, ask yourself why. Then answer in real words—not “it’s nice”, but what exactly is working and what it’s making you feel.
Steal from the things you love, but know what you’re stealing. Have favourites and be able to defend them out loud. And allow yourself to say, “I think this is bad.” Then make the case for it. Taste really counts on that last one.
Here’s the bad news, and there’s no point sugar-coating it: when you express an opinion, you might be wrong in front of other people. Do it anyway. It is far better to have a wrong opinion than no opinion at all, provided you can defend it.
People with no point of view become part of the furniture in meetings. The people who get heard—and eventually trusted—are the ones with a clear perspective, even if others disagree with them.
Learning to trust your judgment also means trusting the flinch. That little feeling of “this isn’t right” when you look at something is your taste speaking before your brain has caught up. The trick is not to ignore it. Everybody has that instinct. The real skill is stopping, figuring out what your taste is reacting to, and putting it into words.
Finally, understand what this is really worth to your career. You don’t get promoted simply for doing work. Lots of people do work. You get promoted when people start to trust your judgment. So start showing it now—carefully, in small rooms, on low-risk projects.
Your taste is the most valuable thing you will ever bring into a room. Don’t apologise for it. Develop it. Protect it. And most importantly, learn to trust your judgment.
