Q: When does saying “I don’t know” make you smart?

A: Whenever it’s true!

Many times, managers and leaders feel like they should know all the answers, and that saying “I don’t know” makes them look weak, or even worse, incompetent. However, in reality, admitting that you don’t know an answer to something is the most healthy and positive thing that you can do – both for the business as well as your own reputation and perceived value.

Let’s take a look at the 2 alternatives:

1. You think you know or you pretend you know
   • Whether it’s because of pride or insecurity, you establish a plan that’s based on just your limited knowledge and experience
   • You put together an overall business, product, or project plan that’s based on those working assumptions
   • You don’t incorporate any plans or scheduled time for research and learning
   • You don’t look for any experts to help you – because you already know the answers!
   • As the initiative progresses, you start to hit surprises (oops, I didn’t know that when I started!)
   • However, acknowledging that there’s a problem now is even worse than admitting ignorance in the beginning, so you adjust the best you can while “saving face” on the original premise
   • As things continue to progress, they unravel even further – you’re behind schedule, over budget, and not even sure how to get there anymore
   • Pretty soon, you realize that your headed down a dead end, and sooner or later, you’ll have to fess up to a failure
2. You acknowledge your ignorance and seek help
   • You realize up front that you have limited knowledge or expertise in a particular aspect of the project or objective
   • You identify things you can do or people you can engage with to learn and understand
   • Those initiatives are incorporated into the overall plan and schedule
   • You gain valuable knowledge and expertise in an area where you were previously weak
   • You’ve built some great relationships with the subject matter experts you worked with
   • You establish an overall project plan and schedule that has a much greater confidence level, and the subject matter experts are right there to help you succeed (they now have some vested interest in your success).
   • You deliver!

Obviously, the latter scenario is where you want to be – succeeding in delivering what you promised, gaining some new/additional know-how, and building up your reputation as a strong and successful leader.

So think about it whenever you’re starting up a new initiative.

• Admit your ignorance, it’s the smart thing to do!
• The alternative: do you really want to go there?

Here’s to your success!

• Pete