You know what you know.
The knowledge that is easily accessed, thanks to your experience and memory.
That’s pretty clear, right?
You know what you don’t know.
An example may be an elite real estate agent who knows their business and marketplace inside and out. However, they may don’t know anything about fridge sales. They acknowledge that they don’t know anything about fridge sales, what parts comprise a fridge, what the warranty may be, the cost to produce and the margins.
Knowing that you don’t know a particular topic and don’t have an answer is critical. You can turn to the expert in the room to fill in the gaps.
You don’t know what you don’t know.
The biggie here is, “you don’t know what you don’t know.”
Why is this so important?
The sooner you can admit that you don’t know what you don’t remember, the quicker you can move into a place of humility and growth. This is an excellent way of acknowledging your blind spots and turning to others for insights and knowledge. Asking a thinking partner, coach or mentor to shed light on the unknowing in your life.
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Keep this in mind:
When you do run into issues in the workplace, ask yourself if there is something that you don’t know here? Stopping for a moment allows you to create some self-awareness.
Is a colleague experiencing a challenge because they don’t know what they don’t know?
Provide margins for growth. Encourage others to allow others to shed light on what is being missed. Encouraging contributions from differing views and opinions can go a long way towards successfully learning and growing.