#35: "I don't know"
I want to share with you the three most important words I have learned as a consultant. They are “I don’t know.”
Yes, I know that consultants are not normally paid for not knowing. Nor are leaders. But leaders and consultants can be at their most effective when they admit to not knowing.
When a leader makes a statement, outlines a plan or offers a solution, followers stop thinking. On the other hand, when someone who is supposed to know admits to not knowing, it creates a space for others to step forward with new ideas and different perspectives.
It is a wise leader who, even when knowing, occasionally says, “I don’t know”. Try it, you might even learn something from your followers. I have learned from my clients and got paid for it.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
Yes, I know that consultants are not normally paid for not knowing. Nor are leaders. But leaders and consultants can be at their most effective when they admit to not knowing.
When a leader makes a statement, outlines a plan or offers a solution, followers stop thinking. On the other hand, when someone who is supposed to know admits to not knowing, it creates a space for others to step forward with new ideas and different perspectives.
It is a wise leader who, even when knowing, occasionally says, “I don’t know”. Try it, you might even learn something from your followers. I have learned from my clients and got paid for it.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
7:20 AM
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