A friend recently told me that he was going to a training class on Cisco routers. A statement that he made caused me to pause. He echoed a common misconception when he said, "I’m going to go to this class to gain expertise in router configuration." Why is this a misconception? I’ll answer this question in today’s post.
An expert, according to the Cambridge Dictionary of American English, is defined as a person having a high level of knowledge or skill in a particular subject. Maybe this is why so many people are confused about what it takes to become an expert. Apparently there are two definitions. Here is what the Oxford American College Dictionary has to say:
A person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.
Now that’s a different definition. Here’s where I think the problem lies:
When we want to become an expert, we define it as being very knowledgeable and skillful. When we want to consult with an expert, we add the authority qualification.
What’s the difference? Let’s analyze it. If you are in need of advice, consultation, or any other form of help where the stakes are high, you want an expert. Is the person you want simply someone who knows a lot about the topic? Probably not. You are seeking an authority in the area of need. Now, when we want to call ourselves experts, we seem to change the definition to be more like the Cambridge Dictionary’s definition. We accept knowledge alone as expertise.
I’ve said all that to say this: if you want to become a true authoritative expert, it takes time and effort. It doesn’t happen automatically after attending a class. You must practice, contemplate and study your area of expertise to become the authority. I would even suggest that you may need to either make discoveries or develop your own perspective on the topic.
What does the journey to authoritative expertise look like? The important thing to remember is what it doesn’t look like. It will not be a trend line on an ever upward curve. In fact, your knowledge and skills related to a specific domain will likely leap drastically during the first thirty days of study. After that, it will likely take a year or more to double again. In addition, there may be times of stagnation or even retrogression. In these times of retrogression, you often discover that you learned something wrong because – believe it or not – you trusted the experts (ironic isn’t it?).
Persistence is the most important thing. Never give up on your dream of establishing your expertise. And remember, you don’t always have to be the authoritative expert – sometimes it’s enough to just be the expert.
