The Scariest Words at Work? “I Don't Know.”
Why great leaders make it safe to ask questions.
With Halloween around the corner, I've been thinking about fear. Not ghosts, goblins, or things that go bump in the night. I'm talking about the kind of fear that shows up at work.
The fear of looking foolish. Of asking a question everyone else seems to know the answer to. Of admitting you don't understand something. We've all been there.
I remember sitting in meetings early in my career, wondering whether I was the only person in the room who didn't quite follow the conversation. Sometimes I'd ask the question. Sometimes I'd stay quiet. And inevitably, when someone finally spoke up, you could almost feel the collective relief. Turns out, I wasn't the only one.
In mining, engineering, and manufacturing, that kind of silence can have consequences far beyond an awkward meeting.
A question left unasked can become a costly mistake. Or worse, a safety issue.
That's why psychological safety matters.
The best leaders don't expect everyone to have all the answers. They create an environment where people feel comfortable saying, "I don't know," "Can you explain that?" or "I think we might have a problem."
Because the scariest thing in the workplace isn't admitting you don't know something. It's pretending you do.
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