“No clue yet, give me an hour” beats a confident guess that collapses in front of the whole team.
LEADERSHIP
WHAT THIS MEANS
Admitting you do not know yet is cheaper than being wrong in public. A confident guess gets taken as fact, decisions start being built on it, and when it collapses it takes the plan and some of your credibility with it. Saying you will find out costs a moment of looking uncertain. Everyone else in the room is quietly relieved somebody said it.
Separate what you know from what you are estimating, out loud, every time. Give an hour by which you will have the real answer, then meet it. People trust whoever marks the difference.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
When did you bluff an answer you could have just checked?
MORE IN INTEGRITY & CHARACTER
- Jokes that need a smaller kid as the punchline aren’t comedy. They’re a hit and run with a laugh track.
- Sitting a friend down for a tough talk can be pure care. Dodging it is easier, not kinder.
- When someone’s getting picked on, “leave them alone” is a short sentence that can change someone’s whole year.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.