Admitting ‘I don’t know’: A senior leader skill worth mastering

Bernd Vogel, Professor in Leadership and Founding Director of the Henley Centre for Leadership explores the strength in knowing when to step back.

Ever said ‘I don’t know’ in your role as a senior leader? This admission and temporarily stepping back for colleagues who can take charge is one of the hardest things to do in business, especially the more senior you become. But far from being a sign of weakness it actually demonstrates the opposite. Being reflective and open about the breadth and limitations of your skill set is a leadership strength. It sets you apart from others and in fact de-risks your business.

The benefit of being open

This often undervalued attribute was a key theme across the conversations in my Leadership Unlocked podcast with senior figures from various industries. No matter the sector or role, having the confidence or maybe the courage to admit you don’t have all the answers to every facet of complex business issues is a mindset as much as a skill worth mastering.

Consider the benefits that come with being open. A key attribute of senior leaders is their endless experience and the successful response patterns, often seen by others as wisdom. However, following these well-trodden paths in every scenario can lead to rigid thinking and business risk. Stepping aside when needed and embracing new or counterintuitive insights about strategy, technology, or tactical choices is a chance to remove or reset these patterns.

It also means knowing when to step back. Removing yourself from a situation doesn’t signal failure. It means that senior leaders can focus on another key function: developing and retaining the next wave of executives and leaders. By making space through not knowing, you create moments for colleagues to shine and shape the business collectively.

This is particularly pertinent for today’s CEOs and senior leaders who have to balance everything from strategy, investors and sustainability, to AI and innovation. You can’t do it all, so admitting you’re human and don’t always have the answer is a good thing for business performance but also relationship building and creating senior leadership capacity for the future.

Putting performance first

Don’t get me wrong. What is also clear from my conversations is that not knowing is not laissez faire. It is an active approach for executives to make temporary lack of insight a generative tool that drives performance.

So what can senior leaders do to make this happen?

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