The Quiet Power of Not Knowing as a Leader | Empowered Educator

I remember sitting in a leadership meeting years ago, watching as a colleague nervously presented her school’s reading data. Halfway through, she stopped and said quietly, “I know I’m supposed to have the answers, but honestly, I don’t.”

You could feel the air shift. The room went from polite listening to genuine engagement. People leaned in. They began asking questions, not to critique, but to think with her.

That was the moment I realized: 

The best leadership doesn’t come from knowing everything. It comes from creating the space where others can think bravely.

Educators talk a lot about accountability, data, and plans, but real growth starts when we trade certainty for curiosity. When we lead less like experts and more like learners.

That moment transformed the work I did leading my principal team. I knew they were exhausted - managing compliance, and putting out fires, while trying to hold it all together. But through shared learning, they began to discover something powerful: when they stopped “leading meetings” and started asking better questions, collaboration came alive.

The shift was subtle but profound, with less directing and more developing. Less telling, more listening. And that’s how a culture begins to change.

📌 Thought Spark:

Confidence isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating the conditions where others can find them with you.

Try This: 2 Vulnerability Power Moves

At your next meeting, resist the urge to summarize or solve. Instead, ask:

• “What’s one question this conversation makes you want to explore?”
• “Where might we be assuming we already know enough?”

Your Turn: 

Where in your leadership might “not knowing” actually be the smartest move you can make?