One of the stories I often share with coaching clients is about Mount Everest.

Not because I’m interested in mountaineering. And certainly not because I plan on climbing it.

I share it because it perfectly illustrates one of the biggest career-limiting behaviours I see in talented people, particularly introverts.

The assumption that what they know is obvious to everyone else.

Psychologists call this the Curse of Knowledge.

Once we know something, it becomes incredibly difficult to imagine what it is like not to know it.

And that can have serious consequences.

In 1996, Everest experienced one of the deadliest disasters in its history. Multiple expeditions became trapped in severe weather near the summit. Eight climbers lost their lives in a single day.

Many factors contributed to the tragedy. But one of the lessons that emerged afterwards was the role of communication.

Several climbers and guides had concerns during the ascent. Some noticed problems. Some questioned decisions. Some had information that may have been useful to the group.

Yet not everyone spoke up.

In high-pressure environments, people often assume that those with more experience already know what they know.

They assume someone else has already raised the issue.

They assume their contribution won’t add anything new.

Sometimes they stay silent because they don’t want to appear foolish.

The result?

Critical information never gets shared.

Now, thankfully, most of us aren’t making life-and-death decisions on a mountain.

But I see a very similar pattern in organisations every week.

A talented employee sits in a meeting and says nothing because they assume everyone already knows what they know.

Someone spots a risk but doesn’t raise it.

Someone has a useful idea but keeps it to themselves.

Someone has expertise that could help solve a problem but assumes it isn’t important enough to mention.

Then they leave the meeting frustrated.

“Why didn’t anyone think of that?”

The reality is often simple.

Because nobody knew.

I see this all the time in coaching conversations.

Someone will tell me they don’t speak up because they don’t want to state the obvious. They don’t want to waste people’s time. They don’t want to repeat something that everyone already knows.

Then I ask them a simple question:

“How do you know?”

Usually, they don’t.

And that’s often the lightbulb moment.

They realise they have become victims of the Curse of Knowledge.

They have assumed that because something is obvious to them, it must be obvious to everyone else.

In reality, the opposite is often true.

What feels obvious to them can be valuable, insightful or completely new to somebody else.

One of the questions I encourage people to ask themselves is:

“Am I absolutely certain the other person knows what I know?”

The answer is almost always no.

And when you start operating from that assumption, everything changes.

You begin sharing more.

You start speaking up in meetings.

You ask more questions.

You contribute more ideas.

You become more visible.

And something interesting happens.

People begin to see your expertise.

Not because you’ve suddenly become more knowledgeable.

But because you’ve stopped hiding what you already know.

Authority isn’t built by knowing things. Authority is built when other people experience your knowledge.

That’s why one of the principles we teach in the Elevate programme is simple:

Your knowledge is only valuable when it’s shared.

The next time you find yourself sitting in a meeting thinking:

“They probably already know that.”

Pause for a moment.

And ask yourself:

“Am I sure?”

Because sometimes the difference between being overlooked and being recognised is simply having the confidence to share what you know.