Comments on: It’s Okay Not to Know

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:15:57 +0000

Such insights Chris! If we consider that leaders will model the behavior others emulate, we certainly do not want to impose this upon ourselves and feed into any vicious cycle of insecurity! I have only recently read Peter Block's The Answer to How is Yes Chris, and he is a good mentor to have! Just this morning I read another article closely related to this discussion. It was written by Mary Jo Asmus on The Art of Inquiry, and as I commented for her, I really liked this part of it:

“As a leader, you (believe you) live in a world of answers. You (think) you’ve been paid to have answers, to impart knowledge, to tell. Your employees may have developed a habit of counting on you to tell them your answers. Yet they know the answers themselves, in their own way. They are wise too. The greatest knowledge of all can be within the world beneath what is explicitly known, especially when it comes to unlocking the potential in your employees. This is the place where the answers are elusive to you and where your employees hold fast to their own wisdom. Their best answers are locked inside. These answers are the ones that will help them to grow and develop in the way that works best for them, for you, and will provide creative solutions for your organization.”

By: Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:35:33 +0000

I was going to say that I think we not only impose something unfair on others, we first impose it upon ourselves. I think there’s an insecurity at play here (and I speak from experience) that transfers from within ourselves to others around us.

It’s even harder for us independent business consultant folks to tame (or could just be me, I don’t know…hey, that feels nice). We’re supposed to be the ones with all the answers. Every time I find myself thinking that, I reach for my Peter Block and remind myself that no one has a monopoly on solutions and it’s the clients themselves who often have good answers, too. The consultant becomes the coach, beckoning the solutions out.

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:11:02 +0000

It is interesting to me how this conversation is evolving. I wrote this post thinking about how we will impose an unfair expectation on others, and all of you have added the self-management and self-leadership considerations about better cultivating our own expertise. I was not thinking about how being an expert can actually be an affliction leading to a dysfunctional culture, but all of you are right - it can happen.

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:05:18 +0000

Great observations Ann Marie, thank you for chipping them into this conversation. I think it is human nature that we all want to be validated by others, however getting validated for our knowledge (could we call it credibility? Just read a related article on this by Trust Agent author Julien Smith) is just a small part of the picture. I'm thinking about that trio of talent, skills, and knowledge we talk about as the inputs of strengths management, and how we earn reputation versus credibility.

By: Ann Marie

Ann Marie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:42:00 +0000

My friend calls this “the cult of the expert.” It seems like a lot of people afflicted want to show their worth–they’re used to being validated for their knowledge. So one must be sure to truly reward the quest, validate the people who ask questions, not just state answers.
.-= Ann Marie ´s last blog ..Go in Swinging =-.

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:54:26 +0000

Aloha Mike, so good to hear from you again!

Expertise is supposed to be a good thing, but it sure can get in the way sometimes. I would love to hear more on how you do eventually get beyond that “struggle” you’d mentioned: Another strategy beyond the 5 tips I offer here?

By: Mike Wagner

Mike Wagner — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:01:28 +0000

This post rings true for me.

The clients we struggle the most to help have MKIA so much so that we often refer to them as “expert cultures”.

Thanks for sharing!

Keep creating…stories worth repeating,
Mike

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:35:35 +0000

Welcome to Talking Story Ann Marie! Your sharing gives me a very warm memory of one of my earliest mentors, Sigi Brauer: I sat in on an interview he was doing with an MBA student applying for an internship at our hotel, and Sigi told him that he'd now discover the "second kind of research." He explained that asking other people is usually the quickest, and most timely way to discover something: If they don't have an answer, ask them where to go next, or who else to ask. He was explaining our culture there - that we were expected to speak up instead of keeping too much inside where it couldn't be shared, but the research bit stayed with me as a lasting impression (This was about 30 years ago!) Brings this oldie but goodie to mind to: Embracing What I Learned From My Friends (This stuff is good!) As far as writing goes, I think we can add a 3rd type of research too: That exploration of what we can come up with in our imagination, something I am learning more about right now with fiction. In my own non-fiction writing, I know I can use way more academic and/or web-based research: Gotta love what we can discover on the web now!

By: Rosa Say

Rosa Say — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:21:39 +0000

You give us a great tip Marisa. There are tons of situations where we can say “I don’t know” silently as our own self-talk, but then speak up saying, “Tell me more, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.” Who doesn’t love the invitation to talk from an eager listener?

By: Ann Marie

Ann Marie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:18:45 +0000

My hard current lesson while writing is that not only do I not know, I can't find out just through research. I have to roll up my sleeves and dig in to find out what the questions really are and what opportunities are available on the ground. .-= Ann Marie ´s last blog ..Go in Swinging =-.