Better to know than not know

It's always better to know a thing than to not know it. That's why there is a popular saying about those who don't learn from history. As you probably have guessed, I'm not a believer in "ignorance is bliss."

However, once you know something you can't unknow it, at least not without experiencing some form of cognitive trauma. Almost no one wants that.

Certain information, once learned, must be acted on, regardless if the learner is ready for it or not. When your subordinate comes to you and says, "I don't want you to do anything, but you should know...", whatever comes next will put you in a bind. It may only be awkward, but in the extreme, you could find yourself in front of the judge answering the question, "once you learned this, please explain to the court, what did you do next?"

Skilled leaders manage how they come to know things. They hone an environment where they learn about situations as they develop, thus buying them time to work a solution.

The skilled leader has created a place and time where the helpful subordinate can complain before something becomes an unavoidable fact. (Who ya gonna call?)

They will not turn away the employee that is about to rat out their colleague, because this is a teaching opportunity (Rule #2), or that employee will be intercepted by a diverse inner circle of advisers. Its diversity helps the timid watcher by offering a choice of who they feel is approachable when they don't want to go on record with the boss.

The inner circle can triage these issues, validate assertions, keeping the skilled leader appraised as appropriate, allowing for decisions to be mapped and contingencies planned. The skilled leader can then be nimble and decisive when s/he learns the facts. (Got Troika?)

These techniques will help you manage outcomes and maximize the choices for your team's success.

Lastly, don't confuse this with the political technique called "plausible deniability"; although the same skills are required ... so I won't blame you if you did.

-AR

© Aron Ruthe, 2015

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