I came across this concept of “confident ignorance” long enough ago that I don’t remember where I saw it, but it
stuck with me.
What does it even mean? And is it a bad thing, or a good thing, or what?
I’ve concluded that, like so many things, it depends.
Let’s look at both sides.
The “bad thing” side
I’ve known people – and I imagine you have too – who proclaim, with utter certainty, an absolutely incorrect statement.
(Um, full disclosure: I’ve been known to do this a few times myself…)
That’s the bad side of confident ignorance: when you’re absolutely certain, but you’re absolutely wrong. You think you know more than you do. And all too often, someone rooted in this type of confident ignorance is stubbornly unwilling to hear any correction.
This is obviously a problem no matter where it crops up, but it’s especially unfortunate – to say the least – when you’re a manager or leader. It’s a quick way to lose respect, destroy trust, and break teamwork and collaboration.
The “good thing” side
Can it ever be good? Well, maybe I’m playing with the concept, or even with semantics, when I say – yes – it can, when someone confidently proclaims that they don’t know something, but are willing to learn.
There’s confidence in saying “I don’t know” when not-knowing feels scary. We are, after all, taught – virtually from the time we pop into the world – that “not knowing” is a bad thing for which we’ll be chastised. Parents, teachers, professors, peers, colleagues, managers, leaders – they all want us to KNOW, and getting the wrong answer is often punished in some way.
And yet being willing to admit – confidently – that you don’t know something, but you’re ready to learn, is a way to gain respect, develop trust, and build teamwork and collaboration.
When I give workshops and talks, I’m sometimes asked questions I can’t answer. My response is always to think for a minute, and then offer to get back to the questioner once I’ve found an answer. And their reaction is universally to appreciate the fact that I thought about it, and then was honest about my – I’ll say it! – ignorance.
Or what?
The key here is – as with so much of leadership and life – self-awareness.
Can you be aware of making confidently-ignorant statements? And are you willing to admit when you’re wrong, and learn the facts?
Can you be – yeah, it’s the “v” word – vulnerable enough to say, with confidence, that you don’t know something, and then go learn about it?
It’s obvious that we can’t all know everything we think we should know, or everything someone else asks us about. We just can’t, though we do need to be proactive in learning what we need to know to fill the roles we have.
That said, we can be honest about not knowing things when asked, and we can be not just willing, but downright eager to learn.
Go ahead. Ask me a question, preferably about leadership, but – yeah, I’ll risk it – whatever you want. I’ll answer – and I’ll let you know if I knew the answer, or if I had to go research it, or if I just … don’t know!