Today we are proud to live in the “information age.” Knowledge is enriching, powerful, and can even be inspiring. Scientists want to break every code and genome. Leaders like to think they know a great deal. We like to know because knowledge seems to give us control. Control over ourselves, our organizations, and even our future.
But what if the accumulation of knowledge is not the best answer for innovation and change. What if genuine conversations don’t happen if you think you know everything?What if to move toward greater wisdom does not mean to accumulate more knowledge? What if not-knowing is a gift?
If you think you know it all, you create barriers to collaboration, stifle dialogue, hinder constructive comments for improvement, and limit input on problem solving.
“A true leader is not someone who feels fully informed but someone who continuously receives insight and guidance.” – Martha Beck
Why is not-knowing a gift
I learned to value the gift of not-knowing when I left Cuba as a teenager. How exciting it was to leave toward the unknown! The only thing I knew was that I hated the known. Going toward the unknown opened the world to me. Where before I knew exactly where I was, and all that I could not do, now leaving made everything possible!
If you learn to see not-knowing as a gift it can:
- fill life with the freshness of wonder
- bring unexpected possibilities
- encourage dialogue
- connect you to others
- take you into an exiting unknown direction
- surprise you with a totally different destination
- awaken new ways of seeing and being
How to be comfortable with not-knowing
To be comfortable in the space of not knowing you need to develop trust:
Trust that not-knowing has its own wisdom and value.
Trust that exploring what you don’t know will take you to better places.
Trust that the open space that not-knowing opens will foster change and innovation.
Trust that not-knowing can propel you in a daring adventure.
How not-knowing can be your best friend
The leader who knows it all does not need anybody. He also does not connect with others. He does not inspire. He does not collaborate. When you take the stance of not-knowing it helps to connect and motivate others. It also allows for an open dialogue that does not assume you already know what others are thinking.
When you don’t know, you:
- Ask more questions that invite people into dialogue
- Open spaces for exploration
- Encourage participation, inviting collaboration
- Co-create better outcomes
- Are ready to be surprised
- Listen and hear better finding new understanding
- Are humble enough to keep learning
Remember. . .
At the center of your ability to succeed as a leader is your realization that you don’t know it all. Befriend not-knowing and you will enrich your understanding through deeper dialogues, inclusive collaboration, and openness to learning. You will also reap more innovation that will take your organization into a more successful future.
Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. ~Gilda Radner
Share your thoughts
How can you construct an environment of not-knowing? How can not-knowing encourage collaboration within a given project? How can you use not-knowing in your innovation projects? Leave your answers in the Comments area below, and let’s get a conversation going.
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