Should You Be the Expert?

I recently heard an excerpt from a TED Talk in which the speaker said, “It’s critical for kids to know that the people in authority don’t know everything.” Now before you brand this person as an anti-parent anarchist, you need to know the context. His comment related to curiosity and discovery. He explained that when a respected adult says, “I don’t know,” this stimulates the child to explore and look more deeply for answers. This idea has important implications for leaders. One of our prevailing mental models is that an “effective leader” is someone who has the answers. And yet, when the leader has all the answers, the rest of the organization is unlikely to search for better ideas or to contribute their perspectives. In an increasingly complex world, it’s rare for one person to single-handedly have the best answer. This issue is often most pronounced in ministry settings. Much of a pastor’s training focuses on teaching and telling others. This makes it harder for a pastor to truly listen to different perspectives or to say, “I don’t know.” And yet, these latter behaviors are the ones that can result in a stronger leadership team and better leadership decisions. Even on theological points, where pastors generally have more formal education and knowledge than anyone else in the congregation, giving the “answer” may not always be the best approach. The specific answer may satisfy an immediate question, but it may be better to help the person become a learner instead. How do you like to be described by others? If knowledge or expertise are at the top of your list, you may have some learning to do yourself. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>