How to Say “I Don’t Know” Like a Responsible Director
In this Boardroom Moment:
We’re looking at something every director faces: What do you do when you don’t know? You won’t always have the answer. What matters is how you respond - and what you do next.
This Boardroom Moment is based on Month 8, 'Boardroom Behaviour and Director Conduct', of the Induction Insights for Directors program. For more details go to the bottom of this page.
As a director, you’re not expected to know everything. That’s why Boards bring together people with different experience, expertise and perspectives.
There will be times when you don’t have the answer. You may not understand a new technology. You may question the assumptions behind management’s forecast. Or you may be considering an acquisition and feel you don’t fully understand the risks.
You may simply be thinking: “I’m not quite sure what we’re being asked to decide.”
That’s fine. The important thing is what you do next.
Do you stay quiet and hope someone else asks the question?
Do you nod along because everyone else seems to understand?
Or do you say: “I don’t know.”
Sometimes that’s exactly the right thing to say. It may uncover something the Board has missed or show that more information is needed.
But don’t leave it there.
Ask: “What do I need to understand before I can make this decision?”
You’re being honest about what you don’t know, while staying engaged with the decision.
The problem isn’t not knowing. It’s what you do when you don’t know.
A responsible director doesn’t need to have all the answers. But you do need to stay engaged. You’re not expected to know everything about finance, technology, regulation, people, markets and risk.
You need to understand enough to make an informed decision.
And sometimes that starts by saying: “I need to understand this better.”
Then ask yourself: What don’t I understand? Does it matter to the decision? What do I need to know before I can form a view?
Sometimes you just need to ask a question. Sometimes management needs to explain something differently. And sometimes you need more information or independent advice.
You don’t need to understand every technical detail or become the expert in the room.
But you do need to ask yourself: “Do I understand enough to make this decision?”
Listen to management. Seek advice. Learn from the experts. But don’t hand the decision over to them. You don’t need to know everything. You need to understand enough to make up your own mind.
So, when you don’t know, be honest about it. Don’t pretend you do.
It’s easy to feel you should know the answer, especially when everyone else seems confident.
But sounding confident isn’t the same as understanding the issue.
When you don’t know, don’t stop at “I don’t know.”
Turn it into a question: “What do I need to understand before I can form a view?”
If you’re unsure about a forecast, ask: “What assumptions are driving it?”
If it’s a technology you don’t understand: “What are the main risks?”
If you’re not convinced by an assumption: “What evidence supports it?”
You don’t need to know everything. You need to work out what you need to know before you decide.
A Boardroom example
Imagine management is asking the Board to approve a major investment in a new technology platform. You’re not a technology expert. The presentation is technical, and everyone else seems comfortable with it.
It would be easy to stay quiet. Instead, you might say: “I don’t understand all the technology, but I do need to understand the risk. What could go wrong, and what would that mean for the organisation?”
You’re not trying to become the technology expert.
You’re asking what you need to understand as a director.
And that question might uncover something the Board hasn’t considered—a supplier dependency, an unrealistic timetable, additional costs or a risk that hasn’t been fully explored.
So don’t let “I don’t know” end the conversation. Use it to find the question that needs to be asked.
If something isn’t clear, ask: “I don’t understand that assumption yet. Can you take me through it?”
Don’t feel you have to prove how much you know. If you’re not sure, say so. You might say: “I don’t know enough about this yet to have a firm view.” Or: “I need to understand that assumption better.”
Or simply: “What happens if we’re wrong?” Asking the question doesn’t weaken your contribution. It may uncover something the Board has missed.
You don’t have to know everything. No director does.
Know what matters
What matters is knowing what you need to understand before you make the decision. The job isn’t to know everything. It’s to know what matters.
But being a director means you can’t simply leave the difficult parts to management, another director or an adviser.
You still have to understand enough to take responsibility for the decision you’re being asked to make.
So when you find yourself thinking, “I don’t know enough about this,” get specific.
Ask yourself: What is the Board actually being asked to decide?
What do I need to understand before I can make that decision?
What am I still unclear about?
What assumptions are we relying on?
What could materially change the decision?
And perhaps most importantly: “Is there anything I still need to understand before I can responsibly support this decision?”
That doesn’t mean removing every uncertainty. Boards often have to make decisions without having all the information they would like.
The question is whether you have enough of the right information to fulfil your responsibility as a director.
If you don’t, say so.
Ask management to explain the assumption. Request the information that matters. Seek independent advice if the issue warrants it. And if something material remains unclear, don’t support the decision simply because everyone else appears comfortable.
You can listen to management. You can rely on expertise. You can take advice.
But ultimately, you still have to make up your own mind.
That’s the distinction.
You don’t need to know everything. You need to know enough to take responsibility for the decision you make.
Don’t use uncertainty to avoid responsibility
There’s another side to saying “I don’t know.”
It can be honest and responsible. But it can also become a way of stepping away from the decision.
You might find yourself thinking: “I’m not sure, so I’ll leave this to the people who know more about it.”
But as a director, you can’t simply hand the decision to management, an adviser or another director because they know more about the subject.
Listen to them. Ask questions. Use their expertise. But you still have to make up your own mind.
And sometimes you’ll have to do that without having every answer.
Boards rarely make important decisions with complete certainty. There may be gaps in the information. The future may be difficult to predict. Different assumptions may lead to different outcomes.
So the question becomes: “Do I genuinely need more information or am I looking for certainty that simply isn’t available?”
There’s a difference between: “I don’t know enough to decide yet.” and: “I don’t know everything, but I understand enough to make the decision.”
A quick director self-check
Before asking for more information, pause and ask yourself:
- What exactly don’t I know?
- Does it really matter to the decision?
- What information would help me decide?
- Would that information actually change my view?
- Or am I simply uncomfortable because there’s still some uncertainty?
That last question matters.
Sometimes more information is necessary. Sometimes another report will simply give you more information without making the decision any clearer.
At some point, you have to decide.
Being a responsible director isn’t about eliminating uncertainty. It’s about understanding enough to take responsibility for the decision you make.
What can you actually say in the Boardroom?
When you’re unsure, ask yourself: what am I unsure about?
Need more information? “What are we missing?”
Don’t understand an assumption? “Can you take me through that assumption?”
Want to test the evidence? “What are we relying on?”
Concerned about the risk? “What happens if we’re wrong?”
Outside your expertise? “What advice have we received?”
And when you’ve asked the questions and still don’t have certainty: “There are still things we don’t know, but based on what we do know, my view is…”
You don’t need certainty to make every decision.
Work out what you don’t know, ask what you need to ask, and then make up your own mind.
