Expertise Bubble
“I have over 20 years of experience…”. “I’m an expert in…”. “Thought leader…”. “Evangelist…”. “Senior industry executive…”.
Psychologists have long ago suggested that “expertise” is quite overrated and is often subject to biases from those who claim to be and those who perceive others as experts. It is important to at least consider this. It also seems that the metrics we have been using to bestow the “expert” title on someone have not been right. Often a person is considered an expert just by virtue of association with a specific organization, or a title they have, or because of circles within which he or she is connected. There’s also a misconception about applicability of professional knowledge when one leaves the first career in the public sector for the second career in the private sector. I’m glad to see more recognition of this issue. But, ways of gaining and applying knowledge today are also changing faster than we can comprehend.
We live in a world where a ten-year-old with a computer, an internet connection, and a sense of purpose can gain substantial knowledge by simply studying publically available resources. The same young person, using the same tools, can devastate protection of a network despite efforts of the so-called “experts”.
So…, what really matters when we attempt to identify those who are really capable and useful? In my opinion, the answer is simple: credibility and courage.
Credibility
I’ve met multiple people who simply schmoozed their way into a senior role. Have you? On the flipside, I have also met many people in positions of lesser stature who have been solving huge problems for their organizations or clients. Being credible in a certain field requires justifiable demonstration of objectively successful problem solving while using diverse means and methods. The solution doesn’t have to please everyone. It can’t really. However, it must be effective enough so that stakeholders could see clear benefits. This is why the surest way of building credibility is through finding solutions for various problems and using an extensive “tool box”. Of course positive recognition from stakeholders helps, too.
Courage
Put simply, courage is when a practitioner makes a conscious choice to not do “the same thing and expect a different result”. I have written about polymathy before and believe that continual multi-disciplinary learning will help each one of us to become more innovative, empathetic, and flexible problem solvers. Courage also helps a practitioner to recognize mediocrity at any level and any niche of the industry and share ideas about improvement with the community.
To conclude, I think it is time for us to re-define the concept of expertise in asset protection and other fields by focusing on credibility and courage. We shouldn’t really use years in the industry or the fact that a person has worked for a 3/4-letter agency in the past as sufficient metrics of one’s expertise.
Many thanks for your attention.
Soar above mediocrity!
www.spherestate.com
