John
Why ‘Fake it til you make it’ doesn’t always work…
I understand why the catchphrase ‘fake it till you make it’ is often referred to, but it doesn’t always work. You see, I find that pretending to know something can often hinder productivity and other areas. I never understood why employees do not come forth and be honest that they didn’t know something. Is it because they’re afraid of humility, afraid of being looked down upon, or that they’ll get terminated from their position? Even if that were to happen, so what? Humiliation doesn’t kill people, learn and work until you surpass the ignorant co-worker, or find a new job that is willing to help your professional growth and not remind you of your weaknesses.
Personally, if I don’t know something, I will tell you. Why? Because I don’t know, obviously. I feel even more stupid-err pretending I know something. There is nothing wrong with saying that you don’t know something, because quite frankly, no one knows “everything”. Life should be a endless learning experience, and it is too short to not stop learning. Sharing knowledge can only benefit everyone else in the long run; unless you are working on some secret project that will make you a millionaire ;).
So let’s look at possibilities of one ‘faking til they make it’. You pretend to know something and keep working and end up using too many hours researching, and a project is due; You have nothing. Another example; you pretend to know something and you end up physically hurting someone because you really didn’t know what you were supposed to know. I know my examples are pretty vague, but I think you get the picture. Had you explained you didn’t know something, someone may have explained it to you in 10 seconds, and that project would be complete. Had you explained you didn’t know something, you could have removed the possibility of injuring someone.
I know that there are positions that give you those hours to do the research. I’m not talking about that type of situation. I’m talking about situations where you fake so much, people start depending on you because they think you know it all. By then, I’m sure the people that really do know are smacking their foreheads in disbelief of it all.
So if you’re ever working with me and you don’t know something, just ask; I am more than willing to help.
(Originally posted on Medium)