A Common Credibility Myth

There’s a myth I keep hearing from clients—and not just early career:

Credibility comes from having the answers.

This myth shows up at every level:

Early career → “I need to prove I’m smart enough to be here.”

Mid-level → “I should already know this. Do they realise I’m making it up as I go?”

Senior leaders → “I can’t afford to look uncertain…”

My take? One of the fastest ways to lose credibility is to act like you have all the answers.

You may know Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s mantra:

“Don’t be a know-it-all; be a learn-it-all.”

**I’ll give you two credibility loss examples. My own first:**

Years ago, I ran a workshop for a project management firm, and in the late afternoon. a participant challenged me with a left-field question and something I’d never considered before.

Instead of saying “I don’t know, I’ll find out”, I internally panicked, waffled some irrelevant rubbish, and then threw the question back to the room.

There was complete silence. Everyone could see what I was doing, and nobody, understandably, was going to help me out!

I learned quickly from that one. And even years later, I still remember the drop in my stomach as I was challenged, lost some credibility and attempted to flail my way out while being watched intently.

And a second example from a client I was talking to recently who’d hired a new consultant for her business. The interview process came down to two candidates:

The first had a polished answer for everything. They spoke with absolute certainty, never paused, radiated confidence.
The second candidate? She still showed confidence, but said “I don’t know” twice during the interview – then explained exactly how she’d find out and why that mattered.

My client hired the second person: and six months later is very happy with her choice.

So you’re new, or wanting to prove yourself….and you’re:

Asked a question you can’t answer.
Challenged in a meeting.
Operating in a situation that isn’t clear yet.

That’s where people decide what to make of you, based on what you do next.

It’s true that people will cut you a little more slack if they know you and have experience of how you operate (they’re more likely to attribute any dropping the ball as a fluke).

It’s also true however that you can build on the ideas below from day one in a new role.

Credibility Signals Under Pressure

When pressure kicks in, people don’t analyse our expertise in detail.
They read our signals.

Small observable behaviours that answer their real question, which is:

“Can I trust you?”

7 signals that make all the difference:

Clarity over complexity → You make your thinking easy to follow.
Questions before answers → You slow down and frame the problem.
Composure under scrutiny → You stay stable, even when challenged.
Honest uncertainty → You’re clear about what you know—and what you don’t.
Reliability in real time → You make specific commitments and follow through. (People may forgive a gap in knowledge, but not a pattern of missed commitments.)
Listening more than you speak → You’re disciplined in not jumping in too early.
Admitting mistakes → You take responsibiility rather than blaming circumstances or other people.

Which one(s) do you recognise? I’d imagine that one or two might be leaping out at you!

These 7 are all basically choices at our end, and they’re not always easy; being intentional and practising them helps a lot.

And they’re visible immediately to the people around you.

And #5: Reliability: this ties into trust as well as credibility. The most recent Australian insights survey from PwC [PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025] says this:

“Trust grows from reliability. Workers need to see leaders doing what they say they’ll do, but just 58% say this is true of their direct managers today, and only 50% say their top management lives up to this maxim.”