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Fox Sports IndyCar lead announcer Will Buxton on the challenge — and joy — of biting off more than you think you can chew.
As I climbed the manufacturing ladder, I usually did the job *before* I officially got it. I ran an end-of-line crew long before I became crew chief. I understood how to lead people on the shop floor before I was promoted to supervisor. By the time I became a plant manager, I already had a solid grasp of what the role required.
I felt ready for every step. Comfortable. Qualified.
Will Buxton, lead commentator for Fox Sports’ IndyCar coverage and a familiar face on Netflix’s *Drive to Survive*, has the opposite story.
**“I’ve never gotten a job in my life that I felt qualified to do,”** he says.
Buxton had built a strong career as a Formula 1 journalist. Moving into IndyCar reporting would have been a natural progression. But stepping into the lead announcer role — a position he hadn’t held in ten years, and at a much higher level — felt like a massive leap.
“It felt like a gargantuan task,” he admits. “I knew it would take tremendous effort and constant self-evaluation to reach that standard.”
And that’s exactly the point.
The Power of Being Slightly Overmatched
Taking a job you don’t feel fully qualified for is uncomfortable. It’s also one of the fastest ways to grow.
Buxton threw himself into the new role with intensity. At first, perhaps too much intensity. He put heavy pressure on himself, over-critiqued every broadcast, and started losing the natural looseness and personality that make great commentary work.
“I was doing myself a disservice,” he says. “I tried too hard.”
That’s when he leaned on the people around him — his bosses and colleagues at Fox Sports — for perspective. Their feedback helped him ease up and find his rhythm again. Most importantly, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks gave him simple but powerful permission: *Just be you.*
“There is no set style. There is no set framework. I hired you, and I want you to be you.”
The Entrepreneur’s Parallel Journey
I went through something similar when I became an entrepreneur. In the beginning, I copied what successful people were doing. I studied their offers, their positioning, and their tone. I tried to follow proven playbooks.
It made sense — why reinvent the wheel?
But over time, I realized I was slowly sanding off the edges that made me different. The free work I used to do to build credibility. The handwritten notes of praise I sent to people I admired. The willingness to write about unconventional topics. The decision to avoid negativity even when it could have driven attention.
Those quirks weren’t strategic. They were *me*. And they had worked.
Not long ago, Buxton did the same thing: he went back and watched some of his earliest broadcasts.
“Some of it made me cringe,” he laughs. “But I also realized I want to bring some of that guy back.”
Growth means evolving. But it shouldn’t mean losing everything that made you special in the first place.
Why You Should Take the Job You’re Not Ready For
When you take a role you’re not fully qualified for, you’re forced to learn quickly. You study others. You adopt good systems. You stretch yourself.
That discomfort drives rapid evolution.
But here’s the equally important part: while you’re learning and adapting, protect what makes you *you*. The enthusiasm, the personality, the slightly unconventional approaches that got you noticed in the first place. Those are often the very things that will eventually set you apart.
As Buxton puts it: “There’s a lot of stuff buried in your past that was really good… Don’t lose sight of them, because that’s what makes you, you.”
So don’t wait until you feel completely ready. You may never feel fully qualified — and that’s often the best sign you’re on the right path.
Take the step. Embrace the stretch. Bring your whole self to the challenge.
That’s where the real growth — and the real satisfaction — happens.