When I started my career, I would never have guessed that I would consider the idea that a lack of knowledge was a good thing. I have always been the man with the answers and my answers were “always” right. As a kid, I didn’t ask my mom why the sky was blue; I told her. In short, this concept of leading from ignorance is neither natural nor comfortable for me as a leader or an individual, however, the benefits can be wide spread and significant. A leader that doesn’t have all the answers is forced to work with others to find solutions, requires collaboration with and among the team, welcomes opinions and discussions, and most importantly, learns to trust. Trust the team, trust in oneself, and trust in a method of leadership whose benefits aren't immediate, obvious, or certain. 

Turning ignorance into success isn’t easy and in most organizations, isn’t natural. Leaders have come to their positions through expertise and competency. Teams are conditioned by policies and procedures steeped in a culture of deferring decisions to leadership. Organizations expect their leaders to deliver results as a leader in the same way they were successful as individuals. This is a fallacy though.  Recognizing that the skills which make a good subject matter expert are not the same skills required for good leadership is step 1. It isn’t that ignorance, necessarily, makes for a better leader but it does in many ways force patterns of good leadership such as listening, trust, inclusion, empowerment, and collaboration. As a “former" expert it is so easy to take the short path and just tell your team the answer. That path, while easy and sometimes effective, is one that kills empowerment, creativity, engagement, and accountability.

3 Keys to success:

No Bluffing: If you don’t know something don’t hide from it. Strive to learn from your team, your peers, books, Google, etc.  Note: Just do not attempt to learn from in-flight magazines. They have the worst advice!

Trust but Verify: No one knows everything - that includes you, your team, and your peers. Ask lots of questions, challenge ideas and assumptions around the answers you get, and check the answers against multiple sources.

Lead: Lacking specific knowledge doesn’t change your role. As a leader you are accountable for defining vision, helping the team deliver results and guiding the team in making decisions. Your ignorance won’t make that job easier or you less responsible for the outcomes, good or bad.

My leadership journey has been one of continuous evolution and change forcing me to grow as an individual and as a leader. Acknowledging my own ignorance and finding a way to still be successful has been one of the most challenging learning experiences in my life and I continue to learn more every day.  Leadership, just like life, is a journey; not a destination.  For me, leading from ignorance is just one small step on the journey. It’s not my favorite step by any means but it has forced me to grow in ways I never imagined. I’m thankful to my leaders who have trusted me. I’m thankful to the teams I have led and their willingness to educate me and give me their trust. I’m thankful to the many, many folks I’ve gone to for advice as I’ve tried to navigate this path. I haven’t always been successful but I haven’t been bored either.

Initially Published on LinkedIn - March 7, 2017