Saying I Don't Know
posted on in: lessons, Google and engineering.
~213 words, about a 2 min read.
- Admitting what you don’t know creates more safety than pretending you do.
Senior engineers who say “I don’t know” aren’t showing weakness - they’re creating permission. When a leader admits uncertainty, it signals that the room is safe for others to do the same. The alternative is a culture where everyone pretends to understand and problems stay hidden until they explode.
I’ve seen teams where the most senior person never admitted confusion, and I’ve seen the damage. Questions don’t get asked. Assumptions don’t get challenged. Junior engineers stay silent because they assume everyone else gets it.
Model curiosity, and you get a team that actually learns.
The most difficult challenge in my career has been admitting, "I don't know". When your intelligence is the currency to which you succeed in school, and at a job, you work very hard to signal to a lot people how you're clever you are. "I don't know" meant weakness of the mind and a level of incompetency, to me.
What I've understand is that, "I don't know", is an invitation to learn, not just for myself, but as a team. I like to say to my colleagues, "we'll learn, together." It's really the best when we figure out something as a team.