Trigger Question #142:
If you are a leader or a manager, you might find this Trigger Question difficult to answer, never mind act on.
Subordinates expect you, the leader and manager, to know stuff, to have answers. That’s why people come to you when they are stuck. They think you know. They expect you to know.
After all, you did not become a boss by saying, “I don’t know.”
And yet, you can often be more effective at managing or influencing others when you admit to not knowing. Even when you know you know. Saying that you don’t know, even when you do, creates a gasp and a gap. A vacuum.
Here’s the thing. Mother Nature abhors a vacuum. Apparently, vacuums suck. So Mother Nature will suck ideas out of other minds to fill a vacuum you have created.
When you admit to not knowing, someone will feel obliged to fill the gap. They will either have the answer, have an answer, or they will blurt out something interesting that could trigger a new solution.
Be wise with your knowing and with your not knowing. Occasionally say “I don’t know.” Even when you know. Then wait and listen.
Try it. You might even learn something from those who wish you would just tell them.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
. . .