I recently ran a webinar for one of my corporate clients on “expertise” – what it is, what it isn’t, how to own it, share it and build it.
One of the questions that came up was –
When will I be an ‘expert’?
It is a great question and one almost ALL of us ask ourselves at some point in our professional work, whether we are a revenue generator, a member of a support team, client services, management, business development or a solopreneur.
And the way to answer that is to question it back.
How do you define someone else as an expert?
There is no hard and fast rule that says “when someone does X, they are an expert”.
Expertise is relative.
For example, in a highly defined niche or small marketplace / working environment, you can easily become the go-to person (i.e. defined as an expert) but when the domain is larger, that may not be the case and it becomes something you may need to work more consistently at achieving.
How you identify someone else as an expert plays a significant role in how you will ultimately identify yourself as one.
Is it by their credentials? The number of years they have worked in that industry? What you hear others say about them? What you read about them online? Whether you found their work with you above and beyond expectation? Who they associate / run with? Whether their name keeps popping up in industry-related conversations? Something else? Or a combination of several things?
For example, if you label someone else as an expert because they are quite visible in the marketplace and others are talking positively about them, then the way to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin as an ‘expert’ is to do the same thing. While continuing to build your subject-matter learning, build your visibility at the same time – send business-related updates to your clients, blog or tweet important information / opinions, attend the right events, use high-level questions to let them know you know your stuff, make case studies / stories of your successes easily available, mentor someone, build your identity by regularly and consistently getting your name out there (and “out there” should also include “in the office”).
If you label someone else as an expert because they can easily solve difficult problems or come up with creative ideas, then focus on your continued learning in the field and build your confidence to manage the mistakes you will ultimately make. Get the education you need in the subject as well as in areas around and related to it. Work with a mentor, coach or trusted advisor on matters such as risk-aversion, factors contributing to errors, flexibility and creativity. Get involved in more complex matters.
Personally, when sourcing experts for important or high-fee matters, I look for 2 things – a referral by someone else and their own proven track record. So, for me in my own business and mindset, I focus on building systems that allow people to refer me to others and I share my track record in several different ways (eg case studies, stories, testimonials, champions etc).
So, when wondering what it will take for you to feel like an expert, the simplest place to start is in understanding how you define others as an expert. Then, go out and build that same definition for yourself. Of course, you can expand on it later but this is a great way of starting to build your systems of both the mindset and the skillset of expertise.