When in doubt, cut it out
Mark Twain said it best – “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Sometimes we feel the need to have all the answers. We’re expected to know how to solve most problems but the truth is that some times we actually don’t know what to do or how to best respond. We experience doubt. Some people respond by pausing to learn more or get help while others fake it till they make it but often don’t actually make it, resulting in a loss of credibility. It’s important that we know our subject matter and that we know our client’s business, however, it’s more important that we know when to say we don’t know something or need to get more help.
Consider
If you’re not sure how to answer a question, solve a problem or access the right information then don’t do anything except get help. We don’t need to have all the answers, just the right ones.