This is a great discussion, and I've been in a weird position with this for years. I think a lot of people at first glance/discussion will think that I always have to/want to "be right" or that I always "think I'm right", because to be honest, I tend to debate a lot. But Ive thought about this a lot in the last few years, because Ive never really felt like I was the smartest or felt like I was always right, so I was trying to figure out why I come across that way.
What I realized is that embedded deep in me is the drive to always reach higher, do better, and get others to reach their potentials. What that has caused for me with my FIRST team is that I am constantly pushing and challenging everyone on my team to do more, be better, live up to potentials they may not have realized they had. But often my way of doing it is challenging their ideas, asking questions, and forcing them to think harder, which I think sometimes comes across as me "thinking Im right" or "thinking that I have a better answer". When in reality, I likely dont know the answer, I might just have an instinct that a better answer is out there, and I want them to find it. So now I am trying to find more effective ways to make my intentions clear and hope that I dont get caught in the stereotype of "those that think they are always right"
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So that was my story, I find it really interesting that so many mentors have chimed in here. So many of us have learned the hard way, or had time to introspect. I know when I was in high school I would always say I was smart enough to know that I didnt know much of anything, but I think in reality I always felt like I knew so much more than the next guy/girl. I've learned since then that we all have our own areas of specialty, and we all must rely on eachother. Im certainly not a mechanical engineer, so I will rely on my mechE's for the detailed calculations, Im not a programmer, so I need to rely on the programming team to even make the robot drive left... etc!
But the definite best advice here is really learn to know your strengths and weaknesses. Use your strengths for everything they are, learn to develop what weaknesses you can, and make some really good friends who can fill in the weaknesses that just arent worth working on as you will be so much more productive focusing on what you are good at, but knowing what you dont know/arent good at... :-D