Our relationship with ‘expertise’ is getting in the way of individual and organisational flourishing
A few months ago, I wrote an article for Startups Magazine about the challenges of transitioning from being the expert to leading the experts - an unavoidable step on the journey of every leader.
In the article, I focussed on the often-overlooked human dimension of the transition - the subconscious process of redefining aspects of our ‘self’ as we learn to embrace a new dimension of our identity. What we are subconsciously asking is to give up a significant part of what makes us feel successful and worthy in favour of embracing a role that we are not yet familiar with, and perhaps not as good at.
I often see this at the heart of what causes turmoil and stress - overworking, rescuing, failure to delegate, lack of attention to strategic or big picture thinking and company culture, etc.
If we zoom out, at a societal level, much of this is down to our relationship with the concept of ‘expertise’.
Most of us, myself included, value expertise. And because we value expertise, we are tempted to view people who have it or have relatively more of it, more favourably than those who don’t. This is also true for how we feel about ourselves.
For example, I typically value the opinions of my coaching supervisors more than I might value those of a newly qualified coach or indeed my own. It’s important to me that my supervisors have more experience and expertise than me. I want to see them as ‘experts’; it’s part of why I pay for their services.
In my former life in international development consultancy, the concept of expertise was front and centre. Global donors bought ‘expertise’. They were very specific about what they mean and what this requires including specific numbers of years of experience doing particular tasks. I learnt quickly that I was not an expert and needed to stay in my ‘generalist’ lane where I belonged. 😳
Taking it one step further, we place varying degrees of value on different types of expertise based on what we perceive to be ‘worthy of value’. This is often determined by our worldview and life experience. For example, I value coaching skills more highly than I do other leadership skills. I am biased to believe that leaders with a coaching style and mindset are better leaders than those who lean more heavily on their autocratic skills.
So, as a society, we value experts. They can teach us, and we want to learn from them. The pursuit of expertise is a powerful motivator, driving us to continuously grow and develop. I have a reading list as long as my arm!
Having expertise also builds credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of others and contributes to our internal feelings of self-worth. It is a gateway to opportunities, influence, impact, and authority. The recognition and reward we get when we are in expert positions give us a sense of achievement and satisfaction which builds confidence.
What’s not to like?
The problem is that when we base our sense of self, views and judgements of others on perceived levels of expertise, I believe that we limit our individual and collective capabilities.
Let’s explore through the lens of the belief system sitting at the root of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
If I believe I am an expert I might…
Draw conclusions about what I think is going on for a client. I might lead them to where I think they need to go rather than where they want to go.
Give advice, jump in, rescue.
Be resistant to ideas or approaches that challenge what I believe to be true.
Dismiss feedback and become defensive.
Dismiss people who think differently to me and chalk it up to their lack of experience or expertise.
Become complacent and stop learning.
When I show up with the belief that I am an expert and adopt some or all of these behaviours, I invite the people I am in relation with to react accordingly.
For example, my clients may start thinking they need more advice and trust themselves less. This results in them retreating even further into their survival behaviours rather than accepting themselves wholeheartedly and embracing their strengths.
People might resist giving me feedback or sharing an alternative view either because they question themselves in my presence or because they are afraid I will shut them down.
If you believe that I am an expert you might…
Have expectations of how much I know and what you can learn from me. You might be disappointed or view me less favourably if I don’t meet your expectations.
Disregard your own thoughts and ideas or hold back from voicing your opinion, thinking that I will know better.
Fear my judgement if you say something wrong or make a mistake.
Envy me or be jealous. This may lead to avoidance or competition.
Pigeonhole me into a specific role and fail to see my potential for other things.
When others show up with the belief that I am an expert, I sometimes feel compelled to meet their expectations so as to not let them down. I feel tempted to prove myself, to cover my cracks, limiting my ability to be curious about what they think, know, and understand.
Conversely, if I believe you are an expert, I may experience similar thoughts and feelings and behave in the same way towards you. I may invite you to meet my expectations of you, to prove yourself in my eyes and I may be disappointed if you don’t meet them.
If I believe I am not an expert in a world that values experts I might:
Hold back from sharing my opinions, publishing my thoughts, or speaking in public.
Strive to become an expert, convincing myself that one day I will be an expert and then I’ll be good enough and worthy of people’s time.
My thoughts might sound a bit like:
“I’ll be credible when…”
“They can’t learn anything from me until…”
“I just need to get to x or complete that qualification…”
In other words, my behaviours, thoughts and feelings will be driven by my sense of lacking, somehow being ‘less than’, one down.
What happens at the organisational level?
Teams and organisations that do not have a measured view of expertise could become overly reliant on the expert, stifling other members of the team and limiting their growth. People may not feel that they can contribute or lead without the expert’s approval at every stage of the process.
This can create entrenched hierarchical dynamics and undermine collective input, innovation, and cooperation which leads to narrow thinking and under-utilisation of talent elsewhere in the organisation. Not to mention, lack of motivation of staff who feel disempowered.
Organisations might miss opportunities for progress and change if they are too reliant on a particular source of expertise. Adaptability requires us to be open to ‘what else might be true’.
So, what can we do?
The problem, of course, is not the concept of expertise itself but our relationship with it and how it affects how we show up with each other.
The danger lies in the power dynamics we fall into. These limit us as individuals, those we are in relation with and our organisation’s capacity to learn, grow, co-create, and innovate together.
So, the solutions must reside in our mindset and our individual and collective belief systems.
We need to detach our sense of self and the value we place on people from our respective levels of expertise. We need to adopt the mindset that we are all creative, resourceful, and whole and capable of contributing, learning, and growing.
“Great leaders do not consider themselves experts in leadership. They consider themselves students in leadership. And they know there is always room for growth. Part of the role is to adjust” - Simon Sinek
We need:
To stay open to learning at all times. We need to acknowledge our discomfort when we encounter disagreement or ideas that challenge our worldviews. We need to lean into discomfort, not away from it.
Promote collaboration and value the diversity of thoughts and opinions that come with it.
Organisations that value but also challenge expertise and openly praise people who are willing to be vulnerable, who share their thoughts and opinions, and speak up, respectfully, when they disagree.
Easier said than done though!
Even by writing this blog, I am unintentionally creating power dynamics. By sharing what I am noticing and learning about myself and in my coaching, I am offering some expertise, perhaps even putting myself in a position of expert, though that is not my intention.
Ironically, the expertise required to be a great coach is to ‘not know’ more than we do know.
My intention, as always, is to process my own thinking by writing in a way that I hope my readers will understand, learn from, feel free to challenge, and be curious about. I hope I have invited you to think of me as an expert even if that is not how I feel on the inside.
What are you noticing? Are you seeing me as an expert? Are you seeing the holes in my work and considering yourself more of an expert? In what ways am I inviting a power dynamic between us?