At my first job—Walmart, stockman—I learned two things that stuck:
We were never supposed to say, “I don’t know.”
We were always supposed to walk the customer to what they needed, not just point.
It wasn’t about pretending we had all the answers. It was about staying present. Being helpful. Taking responsibility without needing to be the expert.
In some ways, that training shaped my whole understanding of what humility at work could look like. Not self-deprecating. Not passive. Just… honest. Curious. Willing to engage. Willing to serve.
There’s a certain pressure—especially in professional settings—to appear competent at all times. To know. To lead. To have a plan. But some of the most trustworthy people I’ve worked with are the ones who can say, “I’m not sure, but I’ll find out.”
That sentence does something powerful. It turns a dead end into a doorway. It shifts the moment from performance to partnership.
And if you follow through—if you actually do go find out—then that moment becomes a small act of leadership. Of care. Of humility.
This month, we’re exploring what humility looks like in our careers, in our leadership, and in the way we work with others. And I think it starts here: with the courage to admit when we don’t know something—and the strength to stay curious anyway.
So this week, consider:
Where in your work life do you feel pressure to already know the answer?
When was the last time you said, “I don’t know”—and what happened next?
How might your workplace shift if curiosity was rewarded more than certainty?
Let’s begin the month not with answers, but with questions.
Let’s lead not from knowing, but from seeking.
Let’s walk people to the answer—even when we’re still figuring it out ourselves.
More at ayearofhumility.net.
Fortunately I worked in a profession that was all about looking for answers, librarianship!