• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
      • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
      • Safety Acronyms
      • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
      • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
      • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
      • Safety Slogans List
      • Road Safety Slogans 2023
      • How to write your own safety slogans
      • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
      • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
      • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
      • Safety Slogans for Work
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no Hierarchy of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • THEMES
    • Psychosocial Safety
    • Resiliencing
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / Humble Inquiry / I DON’T KNOW

I DON’T KNOW

May 27, 2015 by Wynand Serfontein 9 Comments

Wynand wrote this email to me with this article attached and I thought it worth quoting as an intro to this brilliant article:

I have just finished reading “Risk Makes Sense” (I am a slow reader, and the book invites you to read it slowly and allow lots of time for reflection), and the book certainly prompted me to reflect on many aspect of my life and thinking.  As part of this process, I wrote this piece as a reflection on how I see, have experienced and makes sense of the concept of “I don’t know”.  I hope this can be a source of some reflection and debate on this simple topic.

I don’t know – Three words with a world of meaning and emotion.

Depositphotos_9428687_xs_thumbWe tend to be scared, very scared, of these three words. I think much of this fear comes from school, where they meant either marks lost in a test, sometimes punishment, sometimes ridicule, but very seldom presents a learning opportunity when given in response to a question.

In the adult world, often this represents a fear of ridicule or humiliation. We tend to want to be able to answer every question, sometimes even though we know that the answer is not correct. We will do anything to be able not to have to answer “I don’t know”.

In a culture of absolutes, “I don’t know” is never an acceptable answer. The “expert” must know all the answers (often in his own mind, while sometimes not necessarily in the mind of the person asking the question). It sometimes seems as if not being able to answer is the same as losing control. Not being able to answer is perceived as not being competent. Having the answer to everything is seen as a virtue, and the person with “all the answers” is made to be the hero. (Have you noticed, even in popular media, how this is used as a compliment – here is “the person with all the answers”. Heroes like MacGyver had to be able to get out of any situation without the inputs from anyone else. While this makes for good entertainment, it does not support the concept of a learning, cooperative culture.)

In a culture of absolutes in safety, the “safety person” may consider himself to be in a position where an answer must be given in all situations, and by accepting the practice of accepting all the answer, this person is reinforced in believing he has all the answers. This viewpoint then prevents the asking of questions – why ask open questions if you already have the answer? Or even worse, ask leading questions with the sole purpose of getting to the answer “you already have”. Also see https://safetyrisk.net/the-art-of-humble-enquiry-as-a-pathway-to-safety-improvement/. (Another good read is “Teaching That Changes Lives, 12 Mindset Tools for Igniting the Love of Learning” by Marilee Adams, Berrett-Koehler © 2013.)

In a culture of hubris, being able to answer is the best way to assert yourself, especially when you are in a position to enforce the consequences of the answer. I also believe in the other way round – believing you have all the answers creates the hubris.

The problem, as discussed in an earlier post, is that this does not open up the discussion. “I don’t know” should be the opening for “so let us find out”. However, how often is this response made in an earnest quest for answers, and how often is “so find out” used in a demeaning way, actually meaning “Go away, and do not dare to come back without an answer”?

On the other hand, “I don’t know” can sometimes be used as an excuse not to fulfil a responsibility. “What happened to x?” “I don’t know”. “What do we do next?” “I don’t know.” This post is not about people looking for a way not to do their work, but for a way to do it better, so I am not exploring this line further.

We need to start embracing the concept of “I don’t know”, but with the right approach. One possible way to do this would be to add the word “but”.

Using the word “but” has received a lot of negative press among behaviour change practitioners, and not always without reason. It is often used to shut off a conversation: “Yes, but…” followed by some excuse as to why something cannot be done. “Yes, but we tried it before.” “Yes, but it cannot be right.” However, used in conjunction with “I don’t know”, it can become a powerful tool in the conversation toolkit.

“I don’t know, but let us discuss this.”

“I don’t know, but let us find out.”

“I don’t know, but I know someone who knows.”

In these sentences, it could be replaced by “therefore”, but quite often the way we talk leans towards using the word “but”.

If we can manage to end the fear of being perceived as weak, incompetent, “stupid”, we can start to celebrate the learning from “I don’t know”. We can start to use it as the starting point for conversations, for being inquisitive, for looking for new opportunities or knowledge. Instead of becoming “armchair experts”, we can become sponges for new knowledge. Where we are managers, we can use this as opportunities to share and coach. As colleagues, we can use this as opportunities to explore new avenues into the unknown without fear of ridicule.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Wynand
Wynand Serfontein

Wynand Serfontein

Senior Scientist at Sasol
Wynand Serfontein

Latest posts by Wynand Serfontein (see all)

  • Why The Problem With Learning Is Unlearning - November 8, 2016
  • I DON’T KNOW - May 27, 2015
  • Some cultural and safety perspectives from South Africa - November 25, 2014
  • Statistics – Lies or science? - October 25, 2014
Wynand Serfontein
Senior Scientist at Sasol, although this article reflects personal opinion, and is not endorsed by Sasol in any way. Experience: I am a chemist by training, but have been involved in R&D safety since 2007.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Humble Inquiry, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: hubris, i dont know, risk makes sense

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Chris. on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Pierre Joubert on Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • James on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Admin on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe

The KISS of Death in Safety

Is Your Safety World Too Small?

You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

When Safety (Zero) is Abusive

Hands Up the Best Safety Fraud!

Communicating Professionally in Risk

How NOT to be Professional in Safety

How NOT to do Anything About Culture in Building and Construction

Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Footer

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS, CHECKISTS, REGISTERS, TEMPLATES and APPS
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • What Is Safety?
  • Safety Acronyms

Recent Posts

  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’!
  • My Story is Better than Yours
  • Understanding Safety as a Cultural Reproductive Process
  • The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser
  • Thinking Outside the Safety Bubble
  • Understanding Language Influencing, A Video
  • Safetie
  • You are NOT the Sum of Safety
  • Update on SPoR in India, Brazil and Europe
  • It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Safety at the Margins
  • Research Basics for Safety
  • We Need Communities and They Need Us
  • Researching Within The Safety Echo Chamber
  • Confirmation Bias, Risk and Being Offensive
  • Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk
  • Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging
  • Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety?
  • Evaluating Value by the Value of What You Don’t Know
  • Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide
  • No Paradigm Shift with BBS
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Is Your Safety World Too Small?
  • What Does Safety Achieve?
  • In Praise of Balance in Risk and the Threat of Extremism
  • We are all equal
  • You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • What in the (Risk & Safety) World is Imagination?
  • iCue Engagement Process
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • For the Monarchists of Safety
  • The Sully Effect
  • All Things Must Pass in Risk
  • Scapegoating and Safety
  • Understanding Habit, Habituation and Change
  • Don’t Mention the War
  • Safety in Design for Who by Who?
  • Beyond ‘What We Do Around Here’
  • Asking the Wrong Questions
  • When Safety (Zero) is Abusive
  • Mandala as a Method for Tackling an Ethic of Risk (a Video)
  • Safety Cosmetics
  • Visualising the EHS Role
  • Towards Dumb
  • Workshops with Dr Long – Vienna, Austria 26-30 June 2023
  • Visual, Verbal and Relational Mapping in Risk Assessment
  • Abduction in Risk and Safety
  • Creating Myths and Rituals in Safety
  • The Safe Christmas Psychosis

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

The Less You See, the More Likely to Die

Looking for Another Side

Embracing Diversity & Critical Thinking to Help us ‘Create’?

Who is the Enemy and What War is Safety Fighting?

SOCD – Safety Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

What Can ‘Safety’ Learn From a Rock?

Innocence and Justice in Safety

Semiotics and Safety

Predictably Arational, Safety as a Superstition

Risk Psychometrics, Spin and Snake Oil

Safety People Don’t ‘Save Lives’

You Have No Idea What Goes on in the ‘Real World of Safety’

What’s Your Resilience Profile?

Don’t mention the ‘V’ Word

Promoting Dumb, Anxiety and Harm in the Name of Good

Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk

Sticks and Stones and the Nonsense of Zero Harm

Zero Vision but Purchase Insurance

Utopian Language and the Quest for Perfection in Safety

What’s Faith Got To Do With Safety

Scenario Learning in Risk and Safety

Zero Suicide and the Discourse of Denial

You Can’t Will Attentiveness

The Psychology of Blaming in Safety

A Semiotic Map for Safety

EGO is not a dirty word

Holistic Ergonomics

Visualising Risk

How to use signs, symbols and text effectively in communicating about risk

The Fallible Factor and What to Do About It

Certificate, Diploma and Masters Studies in SPoR

The Worm at the Core

How was your break?

The Heart of Wisdom at Covid Time

Introduction to The Social Psychology of Risk – Free Online Module

Anxiety and Fear Professionals

What SPoR Network is.

ACTOR + ACTION + TIME = EVENT

Biases and Perceptions in Safety

The ‘Noise’ of Safety, Silence and Practicing of Mindfulness

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY

x
x