On Wednesday I met Ram Charan, one of the foremost management consultants and leadership gurus in the world. Here’s the second insight I gained from my time with him.

Right before his keynote he made the comment, “I don’t know anything.”

The organizer of the event quickly replied, “You’re going on in a few minutes. Please don’t say that.”

Of course, Ram Charan knows a great deal. But he has also come to terms with what he does and doesn’t know. He seems equally comfortable with both sides of that equation.

This is something I discuss with my coaching clients all the time. It never ceases to amaze me. Whether I am coaching a first time manager or a senior executive, they almost always have the same fear – that someone will discover how little they know. They spend their lives hoping no one will realize that they really don’t belong.

In fact they do belong, as much as anyone does. This isn’t to say that there aren’t differences in competence levels. But it is extraordinary to me how many people share this common anxiety that they really don’t know enough.

Ram Charan seems to have truly embraced and found comfort in Socrates. You’ve seen this quote before, but it is always worth reconsidering.

“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all.”