Clarity > Certainty: Why Saying “I Don’t Know” Might Be Your Strongest Move in Times of Change

📌 TL;DR: The best leaders don’t always have the answers—but they do offer clarity. This article explores how honest communication builds trust during change, and why “I don’t know” (when said with purpose) might be the most powerful phrase in a leader’s toolkit.

👀 What sparked this post? Like me, many of you may have witnessed a very recent string of ahem public leadership moments—whether in politics or in high-stakes business settings. These moments are what my Gen Z son might call "as cringey as it gets." And when observing the fallout, I kept coming back to these thoughts:

👉 Clarity isn’t optional.

👉 Respect isn’t a given.

👉 And how you show up when the pressure’s on says everything about what kind of leader you are.

I’ve worked with tech leaders who’ve modeled humility, transparency, and trust—even when they didn’t have all the answers. And I’ve seen how that builds teams up rather than breaking confidence down.

This article is about what those leaders taught me—and why “I don’t know” can be one of the most powerful things a leader says during times of change.

Clarity > Certainty.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in internal and executive communications.

My first lesson in this came years ago during a CEO town hall. Someone asked a tough question about a new initiative  during the Q&A, and the CEO simply said:

“I don’t know.”

I was shocked. Up until that point, I didn’t think leaders were supposed to say that out loud.

But what happened next changed everything:

✅ He named the leader who owned the initiative

✅ Explained what the initiative was all about

✅ Highlighted progress

✅ And said we’d follow up in the recap

...which we always did.

He wasn’t expected to know everything—he was trusted because he knew who did and followed through. It empowered the organization and made people feel included, seen, and respected.

It also made him one of the most beloved and respected leaders I’ve ever worked with.

He didn’t have all the answers—he had clarity.

And that built trust.

🔄 What people really need during change

No time is more stressful for employees than during organizational change. People are juggling questions, assumptions, rumors, and raw emotions—all at once.

What they need is not a hero at the mic.

They need:

✨ A message that resonates with them

✨ A tone that makes sense

✨ A clear picture of what’s next

And above all, they need to feel like they’re not being left in the dark.

🎤 Real Talk from Real Teams

Over the years, I’ve seen clarity make the biggest impact during three specific types of change:

1️⃣ Organizational shifts

2️⃣ Leadership transitions

3️⃣ Enterprise-wide digital transformation

These moments test your comms approach—and more often than not, the culture doesn’t dictate what people need. The moment does. Here's how it’s played out:

1️⃣ Organizational shift 🎯

⚙️ Before: A high-energy, performance-driven sales and customer success culture where executive updates were often full of production value—slick decks, positive and upbeat music, and lots of showmanship and recognition.

🔄 The Change: A major restructuring brought significant change to the teams and priorities.

💬 What the Moment Needed: All that polish didn’t fit the mood. People didn’t want more “hype”—they wanted straight answers. A safe space to ask questions. A sense of stability.

✅ What Worked: The sizzle reel was scrapped. We held an off-camera, lights-down conversation in a quiet room. No slides. Just the senior leader walking through what was happening, why it mattered, and what it meant for them—with time built in to address concerns and rebuild trust.

2️⃣ Leadership Departure 💼

⚙️ Before: A buttoned-up, pragmatic, process-oriented finance team. Messages usually came in the form of data, dashboards, or a well-formatted, matter-of-fact email or blog post.

🔄 The Change: A beloved leader was leaving the company to take on an exciting new opportunity.

💬 What the Moment Needed: People needed a way to express how much this leader meant to them—and spreadsheets weren’t going to cut it.

✅ What Worked: People throughout the org burned the midnight oil to crowdsource a heartfelt, emotional 🎥 group video tribute. It was uncharacteristic and completely off-script for the team—but it met the moment, and that’s what mattered.

3️⃣ Enterprise-Wide Tech Transformation 🖥

⚙️ Before: Cross-functional teams knew a change was coming, but communication was light. Early messaging focused on vision rather than practical impact.

🔄 The Change: A new enterprise platform was launching, intended to modernize workflows and unify teams—but it touched multiple orgs in very different ways.

💬 What the Moment Needed: People needed clarity about:

• What the tool actually was

• Who was going to use it

• How it would show up in their daily work

Without that, enablement would’ve fallen flat.

✅ What Worked: The IT leadership team led with use cases, connecting the platform to real, relevant workflows that employees could see themselves in. The ongoing communications centered on driving adoption, supporting stakeholder groups, and reinforcing the value in every channel. By making it role-specific, actionable, and sticky.

🎯 Whether it’s a reorg, a farewell, or a full-scale digital shift—clarity wins. Not just in the message, but in the timing, tone, and ✨ emotional intelligence behind it.

🔍 So what actually works?

Here’s what I’ve seen resonate across teams, industries, and change efforts:

🗣️ Say what’s changing—and why

🧭 Use clear, human language

👥 Give credit to the people doing the work

💡 Be honest about what you don’t know

📩 Follow up, always

🤝 Design messages that match the moment, not just the template

🎯 Final thought

People don’t expect you to have all the answers. But they do expect you to be real with them.

When you say, “I don’t know”—and follow it up with who does, what’s in motion, and how they’ll hear more—you’re doing more than communicating.

You’re building trust. You’re creating clarity. And you’re giving people the confidence to move forward with purpose.

💬 What’s the most surprisingly human thing you’ve seen a leader say during a big change?

Let’s keep normalizing clarity over perfection. 👇

#InternalCommunications #ExecutiveCommunications #Leadership #OrganizationalChange #TrustAndTransparency #ChangeManagement #EmployeeEngagement #CommsThatConnect