The Curse of Knowledge

Domain: Building Trust - Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The "curse of knowledge" is a cognitive bias where, once you know something, you find it difficult to imagine not knowing it. This leads to assumptions that others share your level of understanding.

As leaders, we do this all too frequently. We assume those on our team have the same knowledge we do, despite the fact that we may have very well not had the knowledge when we were in their same position.

Assuming the knowledge retained by others can lead to poor communication, so we are going to provide a couple tips to help you avoid the curse of knowledge with those in your organization.

Catch yourself

The first step is to try and catch yourself in the act of making such assumptions. This is easier said than done. Begin with trying to notice the times you feel frustrated by the fact somebody else doesn't know something you think they should. This will take some practice but once you get good at catching yourself, the following steps become much easier.

Show some grace

Once you've identified these moments, put yourself in their shoes. Consider what you didn't know when you were just starting out in a new role, field or career. Consider the fact the other person might be in a similar situation. You may have had to learn a lesson the hard way but that doesn’t mean others need to.

Explain the why

Instead of pointing out the knowledge gap, you can use this as an opportunity to share your knowledge with the other individual. Context is always valuable in these situations. Share the why, or the reasoning behind the knowledge, so that they leave with a deeper understanding and appreciation for it.

Keep it simple

As Einstein said: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough".

When sharing the knowledge, try to keep things clear and concise. If you can't explain it simply, chances are you may not understand the material as well as you thought. This is another opportunity to show grace and admit that you both could learn more together.

Ask for feedback

Inviting questions and feedback is critical anytime we are sharing information or knowledge.

When asking questions, try asking "What questions do you have?" as opposed to "Do you have any questions?". The first prompt is open-ended and is more likely to lead to a helpful conversation.

Thank you for reading. My hope is always that you've found something helpful and easy to implement.

This week’s action items:

1. Use feelings of frustration to catch the moments where you might be assuming too much.

2. Show some grace to the other individual by considering that you've had similar knowledge gaps throughout your career.

3. When sharing knowledge, explain the why.

4. Keep your explanations simple and easy to follow.

5. Encourage feedback and questions to ensure understanding.