During a job interview some years ago, I came across a candidate who seemed more uncomfortable than most while admitting ignorance. While most candidates either threw up their hands or cooked up an answer that they believed would pass muster, this particular interviewee seemed almost apologetic about ‘not knowing’ something that was asked.
As her level of sheepishness increased with each passing question, I started wondering if the person had actually gone through the elaborate selection process that my company had instituted. There was a written test and a first round interview before the candidate made it to the final round. No! the systems cannot be at fault here, I reasoned.
Image Courtesy: Dilbert Cartoons
By now the person was at her wit’s end and seeing her confidence levels plummet, I butted in and asked her if she was feeling alright. “Oh yes! It’s just that I did not realize that knowledge of processes were of such importance in what I perceived to be a largely content-related role,” she said. Being from a content background myself, my fellow interviewer suggested that maybe I should ask the questions now.
Once I began the discussion, I observed that she was precise in her answers and readily accepting ignorance when it arose. Gone was the sheepishness. She confidently told me that she wasn’t aware of certain aspects of the work that she specialized in. “Well, I never required to know it in my previous job and therefore made no effort to discover it,” she said.
Many years later, I recalled this experience while browsing through Patrick Lencioni’s book “Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears that Sabotage Client Loyalty“. He suggests that the fear of ‘losing the business’, ‘being embarassed’, and ‘feeling inferior’ as detrimental to building loyalty over the long term.
The reason why we refuse to accept ignorance is linked to the belief that now knowing amounts to not having the desire to know. The mind seldom accepts fraility of any kind, possibly with the exception of physical disability. My anxious candidate was finding it tough to accept her ignorance though she was bold enough to refrain from lying her way through.
In an earlier book on ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable’, Lencioni says, “Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” He reiterates the point more forcefully in the latest publication by suggesting that a certain vulnerability is essential.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if each of us threw our minds back to people in our network who were Mr. Know-alls? I’m sure we may recall several and become aware of a negative vibe while doing so.
Because, as managers wouldn’t we prefer a person who is passionate about discovering but never obsessed about knowing everything there’s to know?
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