Can you handle sharing the truth?

So much brilliance comes out of the mouth of Adam Grant. I watched a 41 second snippet of him and was instantly inspired to write my own thoughts about it. He shares, “You don’t necessarily want people to know what you’re bad at. Well I have some news for you.” I already knew what he was going to say. He continued, “The people you work with closely – they already know what you’re bad at.” The audience laughs and so do I, because we all know it’s true. Grant goes on to talk briefly about the power of self-awareness, humility and integrity in admitting what we don’t know.

This got me thinking

We’re all walking around with impressive LinkedIn profiles and polished elevator pitches, secretly hoping nobody discovers the long list of things we don’t know. But here’s the twist in your leadership journey: those imperfections might actually be your greatest assets.

The awkward art of saying, “I have no clue”

There’s something refreshingly courageous about a leader who can say, “I don’t know how to do that” without breaking into hives. In my coaching work with executives, I’ve seen the most respected leaders earn their stripes not by knowing everything, but by being completely upfront about what they don’t know.

It’s like that moment when your GPS confidently announces “You have reached your destination,” while you’re clearly sitting in the middle of nowhere. Leaders who pull over and check the map rather than driving deeper into ‘nowhere’ have teams that would follow them anywhere.

Vulnerability isn’t just for TED Talks

When Brené Brown made vulnerability cool, she wasn’t suggesting we all start ugly-crying in staff meetings. But she was onto something powerful that I see play out in leadership coaching all the time: leaders who can say, “I’m figuring this out too” create exciting environments where collaboration thrives.

Think about it this way – would you rather work for someone who pretends to have emerged from the womb with a complete understanding of quarterly forecasting, or someone who says, “This new market analysis has me stumped. Let’s tackle it together”? The second leader isn’t showing weakness; they’re inviting collective brilliance.

The psychological safety dance

Creating psychological safety is like hosting a good party where nobody is worried about being judged for their dance moves. When I coach leadership teams, the breakthrough moment often comes when the senior leaders admit they sometimes feel out of their depth too. Suddenly, everyone can exhale and bring their actual problems to the table instead of pretending everything’s fine while the project silently derails. Magic happens when people stop wasting energy maintaining their ‘expert’ façade and start collaborating for real.

The integrity of boundaries

There’s something wonderfully honest about a leader who says, “That’s outside my wheelhouse, but I know who is brilliant at it. Let’s talk to them.” I’ve seen teams transform when leaders stop trying to be all-knowing and start seeking out talent and putting skilled people together. Plus, someone who is bluffing isn’t fooling anyone. Humans can always sniff out a fake – something your AI bot can’t do.

Your team doesn’t need you to be perfect; they need you to be real

Here’s the counterintuitive truth I’ve observed coaching leaders: the more comfortable you are acknowledging your limitations, the more people trust your strengths. So go ahead – embrace your imperfections with a little humour and a lot of honesty. Your team doesn’t need you to be perfect; they need you to be real. That kind of authentic leadership is revolutionary.

Want to be a truly courageous leader? Try starting your next team meeting with, “Here’s something I’m still figuring out.” Then watch what happens to the energy in the room. It’ll be more powerful than any motivational poster you could hang on the wall.