What are the three hardest words to say in the workplace?
“I don’t know.”
Maybe because we learned it in grade school, we often feel we must have the answers. On high alert, we ready ourselves to respond to questions from our bosses, clients, peers, and employees. It wastes lots of personal energy and is pretty pervasive. It can be really bad in some organizations.
What, then, are the three most liberating words to say in the workplace? Yup, they are “I don’t know.” Pair that statement with, “And I’ll find out.” You can greatly reduce both the wasted energy and the chances that saying “I don’t know” will be a career-limiting utterance.
In your corner,
Mike