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dare to be foolish

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Hi,
Well what can I say about this discussion.
The first thing is that no matter who we are, even in our work, we can't claim to know everything.
It is a good for all to ask questions weather they may seem stupied or foolish. It's the only way that we will learn from one another.
Look at this way you way be in a meeting with other techs. And you would like to get a plain & simple answer that will sufice than a long & winded answer one would ask a simple question that may seem stupid or foolish, but in a way is not for you may also have someone who also would like a simple answer to the question but would instead remain quiet for the fear of being or appearing stuiped or foolish.
A simple, foolish or stupid question can also be a simple way for other people & yourself grasp the consept easily.
Just remember no matter who we are a manager or a junior tech, we can all learn from one another.
You might not know or always have an aswer for a question, but another tech or pearson whohas had that same fault or problem knows how to solve it faster. Than what you will if you would sit & try to figure it out yourself.
Another thing. By asking foolish or stupied questions and then having someone else answer the question for you, does not make you seem foolish or it might but you're also promoting self confidence with the other people or techs, & this is what makes them feel good about themselve.
& in a way encourages them or even upliftes them in a way, in the day it gives them a boost in self confidence and they feel that they can acomplish anything.
Just remember that we are never to young or to old to learn.
And that you or I do not know everything that there is to know about everything.
PS. excuse my spelling thanx.

8 replies

by ceejaythompson

Jus a quick note to say that I totally agree with selousscouts@hotmail.com in his comments on asking 'silly' questions. I have been in the IT industry for 5 years and have constantly come up against people who will sit quietly, not asking a single question for fear of being perceived as 'stupid' by there peers.
This is the worst attitude you can have in this industry where applications, security considerations, telecommuting solutions and OS's (to name a few) that a techie has to understand are increasing on a daily basis. Each one of us has a very individual skill set that others can use or learn from, but the only way to get this knowledge transferred is to take the plunge and admit that you do not understand everything that is being discussed. I usually find that if one person plucks up the courage everyone else will benefit, either by re-iterating points that other people had just nodded wisely at, without understanding, or by letting the other people in th ediscussion know wherethere are knowledge gaps so they can change their input to account for this.

Lets face it, 1 minute of blushing far outweighs hours/days of pouring through manuals or through web pages to try and attain the knowledge that you could not admit to not knowing!

by urnotready

I don't know how busy you guys are, but I'm a senior engineer and I have many irons in the fire at once. Sometimes junior techs ask questions that they could (and should) be able to find the answer on their own and that is annoying. So if you wantsenior techs to respect you, do your homework, do some studying, and put in the time/effort so you don't come off like a schmuck!

by timwalsh

Obviously, the mere fact that you are senior means that your time is so much more valuable than that of your lowly junior techs.

With an attitude like yours, I'm sure by now that your juniors tremble at the thought of having to ask you a question.

Your answer presupposes that they haven't done any homework (vs. looking and not finding the answer. Your answer also presupposes that it makes more sense monetarily for a junior tech to spend half a day looking for an answer on their own to solve a problem, than it is to take five minutes of you way more valuable time to solve a problem that much more quickly.

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with your attitude. A junior tech cannot learn everything they need to know from books. The bestlearning tool they have is their seniors. And the attitude of 'Well, I had to learn the hard way' just doesn't wash.

The first time the CEO finds out it took 5 hours to solve his email problem (because a junior tech didn't know where to look forthe solution), when you could have solved it in 5 minutes (if your junior techs weren't terrified to ask you questions), I'm sure your attitude will be suitably adjusted.

Sorry for the rant.

by maxwell edison

Depending on the circumstances, it is indeed best to just help with the answer - when time and/or money is a big factor. Other times, however, it may be best to encourage some individual research.

I'll tell you what I like to do. I like to delegate questions/problems that I may have to my subordinates. They love to help solve my problems, and they know I'll help them with theirs. I try to approach those kinds of issues more as a teacher than as a manager. Helping people help themselves is the ideal approach.

by road-dog

in the long run. If you take on such a condescending attitude with your juniors then you are slowing down their progress. The faster they absorb information, the more they will be able free your time up for more arduous (and challenging)tasks. An investiture in your peers builds group cohesion and will make you all look good in the long run.

Before you rush to judgement about others "doing their homework", consider that they might not even know where to look the information up. A small effort on your part in pointing them in the right direction costs you little and the upside is huge.

I've been the senior engineer in many organizations. Juniors asking for information is a compliment, not a bother.

Leave the chip in the car when you get to work. You don't need that damn thing on your shoulder anyway.

by maxwell edison

I've had people ask me questions that fit your description - ones that they themselves should, or should be able to, lookup themselves.

However, instead of getting annoyed or put-out, which is always obvious, I've come up with, what I think is, arather good answer.

"That's a good question. And you're just the person to find the answer."

After all, I don't want to come across as a schmuck.

by naamor

I have always encouraged my junior techs to ask questions no matter if they feel it is stupid. I have a motto which I tell my techs;

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid mistakes because questions were not asked.?

I also encourage them to keep a notebook and write down the answers to the questions they ask. This is usually followed with this advice about mistakes;

Once is a mistake
Twice is negligence
Three times is incompetence

So far it seems to work pretty well.

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