The Importance of “I Don’t Know”
There is an opportunity for learning every single time someone asks you a question and you are not 100% sure of the answer. Far too often I have seen these opportunities missed as people are asked a question and instead of being honest that they don't understand a concept, they will attempt to guess (and usually get the answer wrong, or give incorrect information) as they are too embarrassed to admit they don't know. Or they won't respond in the hope that someone else will answer for them. It's too easy for this to become cyclical where those employees continue to fall behind as others take these opportunities and are the ones to progress in their careers.
This situation is completely avoidable, but most of the time people are only going to offer their help if you ask for it. They may not have the time then and there to explain something but if you never speak up, chances are you will continue to lack that knowledge and never reach the full potential in whatever role you are in. I understand that it can be hard to ask for help, it's human nature that we don't want to feel inadequate, however it is a much worse feeling to make a costly mistake because you didn't know how to do something properly, when you could have asked for help to become confident in your understanding.
Yes, you may ask someone for help that is going to judge you, or be annoyed you don't already know something, or simply not want to help (we've all worked for those types of traders!). However, in my experience most of the time your questions are going to be met with enthusiastic responses as helping someone learn is one of the most gratifying feelings.
Saying "I don't know" is actually one of the most helpful responses you can make. It informs others that there is a gap in your learning - which most of the time means someone didn't teach you properly in the first place. One of our founding principles at Perfectly Hedged is that there is no such thing as a bad student, only bad teachers. If someone doesn't understand a concept after it's been explained, it is incumbent upon the teacher to adapt to that employee's learning style and explain in a different way until everyone is satisfied with the result. It is this principle that allows us to be 100% confident that everyone that completes a learning course with Perfectly Hedged will walk away confident they have obtained, but importantly will retain this knowledge for the rest of their careers.
