He who asks a question remains a fool for a few minutes. He who does not ask, remains a fool forever. ~ Chinese Proverb.

I have mentioned so many times how much I love a good short quote.  And this one delivers in spades.

Think about it for a second.  What is worse than being the only person in the room who doesn’t understand something? Now imagine that weeks, months, or even years go by and you still are just not understanding the topic of discussion. But knowing that, if you ask now, everyone will wonder what you’ve been doing all this time.

Has that ever happened to you?

But what if you weren’t the only one on the team who has the same question in their mind?  What if they are all sitting around thinking that they are the only one who doesn’t “get it”?

If you have a question, but are afraid to ask, for fear of looking foolish or losing respect – relax, take a deep breath, and then go ahead ask the question.

Oh wait.  That sounded too simple didn’t it?

Here is the deal.  In all likelihood, half of the group doesn’t understand it either.  We live in such a jargon infected society that it is hard to keep up with the latest terminology.  And don’t even get me started on trying to keep up with all the techno-nonsense, psycho-babble, church-speak!  There is only so much I can “Google” at any one time.

What is my point?

Real leaders are not embarrassed to acknowledge that they don’t know everything.  To my knowledge there is not a rule that says a leader must be a technical expert in every aspect of life.  So, go ahead.  Demonstrate a little humility.  Ask the question.  Someone will be glad you did.  And it just might be you!

Photo credit: theunquietlibrarian / Foter / CC BY-NC