Have you ever heard the phrase “I know enough to be dangerous” in the workplace?

I know I have (plenty of times) and let me tell you why I hate it and think it needs to be permanently retired from the entirety of nonprofit culture.

“Knowing enough to be dangerous” really means:

• I don’t know enough about this but I’m claiming I do.
• I know just enough to be baseline effective.
• I know enough to get the job done.
• I know enough to hold on to my trustworthiness.
• I know enough to maintain mediocrity.
• I know enough to be overly confident about what I’m about to say.

But if someone says it, we tend to offer a chuckle or small smile, agreeing to the social contract of allowing someone with decision-making power to fully admit they aren’t fully competent at the job.

This hurts marginalized colleagues. Guaranteed. Because that’s who picks up the pieces and fills in the competence gaps so the boss doesn’t look bad in front of the board, isn’t it?

Time after time (after time after time after time), we witness the actions of those privileged with decision-making power—often white, cis, het, abled—running in direct opposition to the collective, collaborative liberation we strive for every day in our organizations and personal activism.

​Read my latest article where I unpack more about this phrase and offer solutions for decision-makers and those on the receiving end who feel that pressure to smile and chuckle the phrase aside.

Prefer audio? Listen to episode 43 of the Leaving Well Podcast: Knowing Enough to Be Dangerous.​

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