Tag Archives: experts

Explore!

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Traveler Exploring Map With Compass In Sunny Forest In The MountPerhaps one of the biggest mistakes leaders make is to think they have the answers . . . that they are experts . . . because then they quit trying to figure out what they don’t know. That is when leaders get blindsided by the “unknown unknowns”  — unexpected developments that never occurred to the leader, and that can totally change an organization’s reality. Basically, to quote a wise colleague, “Once you think you’re an expert, you’re sunk.”

If you are in a position of leadership, there will be plenty of people who will treat you as if you are an expert. They will ask your opinion, turn to you for solutions, and move forward based on what you tell them. In a situation like this, it is easy to start believing that your job is to provide the answers. It’s not. Your job is to ask the right questions . . . to be an explorer, not an expert.

Explorers seek out the unknown, forge new paths, find new connections, and ask “what if” and “why not.” Experts were convinced the world was flat and so quit looking for other possibilities.

Explorers can certainly have expertise — they just recognize that it is something they have, not someone they are. Explorers use what they know as stepping-stones. Their experience is a gateway to new discoveries, not a box to live in. When you are an expert, new information can challenge your credibility. When you are an explorer, new information is simply another piece of the puzzle.

If the expert chair suddenly feels a bit confining, how does one become an explorer? For starters, get out of the chair and try the following:

  • Identify your organization’s assumptions and reframe them as one possible reality — then look for others.
  • Ask staff throughout the organization what you should be thinking about.
  • Talk to a range of people outside your industry, listen to what they are thinking about, and consider how those ideas translate to your organization.
  • Think bigger than is reasonable. (i.e., ask someone to name something that is not possible, but would be really cool if it was — that kind of bigger).
  • Ask open-ended questions with no pre-conceived notions of the answer.
  • Don’t answer/respond/qualify. Just listen, reflect, inquire, and listen some more.
  • Repeat.

Finally, remember, exploration is a continuous journey. It is not a destination, which once attained provides a comfortable perch from which to dispense expert wisdom. It has ever-changing terrain and new vistas around each bend. It’s about discovery and insight, and yes sometimes stumbling or veering a bit off course. And it’s the only way to get from what we know today to what is possible tomorrow.

The world has plenty of experts. Be an explorer.

Stop Chasing Rabbits

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HareAs a leader, sometimes your “stop doing” list is just as important, if not more so than your “to do” list. And one of the things that should be on your stop doing list is chasing rabbits.

If you have ever seen a rabbit being chased, they dart to and fro, first heading one way and then pivoting and moving in a totally different direction. The likelihood that one will catch the rabbit is pretty slim, however, the likelihood that the chase will take you totally off course from where you were headed is almost guaranteed. Stop chasing rabbits.

I get it. Rabbits grab your attention. There will often be well-intended individuals encouraging you to chase after them. And once you’ve started down the rabbit trail, turning around is hard . . . after all, you’ve gone this far, maybe what you’re seeking lies just around the next bend, right?!? Stop chasing rabbits.

For nonprofit leaders, rabbits may come disguised as “funding opportunities” that pull you first one way and then another. When the rabbit first caught your eye, you didn’t think it would lead you too far from your intended path — your stated mission. But, once you start chasing the money, each step may take you farther and farther from the trail you set out to follow.

Other times, “experts” may urge you to veer from your course to follow a “trend” rabbit. According to these unnamed experts, everyone is going to have to be doing it. (At which point I hear echoes of my mother asking something about “if everyone jumped off a bridge . . .”) This rabbit is especially adept at changing directions depending on which way the wind is blowing.

And then there are the “quick and easy” rabbits that seem to promise an easier path than the one that you are currently treading. Maybe quick and easy if you’re built like a rabbit, but few organizations are as agile or designed to adapt to the terrain the way a rabbit is (ever take the “quickest” route recommended by GPS only to end up stranded on a dirt road in the middle on no where?).

I am not saying you should not pursue funding opportunities, listen to experts’ predictions or look for an easier path. I am simply saying you should do all those things within the context of your path . . . your mission. Rabbits aren’t thinking about where you want to go. They are following their own trail. If your paths intersect, great! Just don’t forget to look at each new trail based on the likelihood that it will ultimately lead to where you want to go.

It takes discipline and focus to resist the temptation, but sometimes the best way to reach your destination is to stop chasing rabbits.

“Experts” Need Not Apply

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ExpertHave you noticed how many “experts” there are out there today? No matter what the problem/challenge/opportunity before you, there is an expert who has an answer. That might seem like a great thing, and it can be in some cases. I’m just not at all sure that “experts” make the best leaders. Let me explain.

Experts know a lot about the thing they know about. In fact, I have run into many an expert who thinks they have THE answer about their area of focus. And that is exactly the problem. When you become an expert, when you have THE solution, you quit gathering new information, considering additional possibilities, or calculating the impact of changing variables. You have devoted years of effort to create an amazing hammer . . . and as a result, everything starts to look like a nail.

If an expert doesn’t make the best leader, who does? A life-long learner. It is fine to be a life-long learner with a lot of experience — in fact, that is highly desirable. So what is the difference between an expert and a life-long learner with a lot of experience? The former thinks they have found the answer, the latter is continually looking a better solution. The best leaders are seekers — not in terms of the “what” of their mission, but certainly in terms of the “how”.

Even when it appears they are at the top of their game, a leader committed to learning is always looking for ways to improve, to extend their reach, to have a greater impact. How?

  • They listen. To those who receive their services, those who provide their services, the “experts” who are happy to offer solutions, and others in the field . . . all of whom can contribute to a greater understanding of the issue at hand.

 

  • They challenge. Even when their organization enjoys great success, and it would be easy to sit on their laurels or pat themselves on the back, they are looking for a better way — either through small tweaks or bringing an entirely new approach to their efforts.

 

  • They don’t put limits on their thinking. It doesn’t matter if a concept comes from a different industry, from someone with no experience, or if it seems “impossible” given the current environment. “Why not?” and “What if” are regular parts of their conversations.

The best leaders continually expand their understanding. They can have a great deal of expertise, but always consider their efforts a work in progress. “Making it,” being an “expert” is a stopping point. Learners don’t stop. Who do you think is most likely to move your organization forward?

Ask and You Shall Receive

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As leaders trying to best position our agencies for future impact, we follow the trends, listen to the experts, at times invest significant dollars bringing in consultants to help us assess the situation, and yet far too often I think we overlook the potential competitive advantage sitting right under our nose. We forget to ask the opinion of those closest to the work at hand. I’m not talking about your leadership team, although their best thinking is a critical part of the equation, I’m talking about those middle managers who are overseeing the day-to-day operations . . . those who come face to face with the shortcomings of your “transformational plans” and know the workarounds and adaptations that have seeped into the daily pressures to meet seemingly conflicting goals.

Yeah, those people . . . those gold mines of information who, as a result of incredible loyalty to the organization, and/or perhaps with a measure of a “once bit twice shy” attitude toward sharing unwanted feedback, aren’t likely to tell you what they’re really feeling unless you ask . . . and they believe you really want to know . . . what they think.

But if you take the time to ask, and they believe you really want to know . . . Jackpot!

I’m not saying you will necessarily love everything they have to say. (But if you’re honest with yourself, I’m guessing even those things that are hard to hear will have a ring of truth to them.) What I am saying is the nuggets of wisdom that will come out of such conversations will likely knock your socks off. I mean . . . you knew you had great people, but . . .Wow! Because here’s the deal . . . No consultant, regardless of how smart, is going to have the passion for your organization that your people do. No outside expert will have devoted the hours, stress and tears to the organization that your people have. They may not have as many letters after their name as some advisor, but no idea — regardless of how good it might look on paper — will come to fruition without their buy-in . . . so ask them!

And then, (and this is key) you don’t get to tell them that how they feel “isn’t true” or they “shouldn’t” feel that way, 1) because perception is reality, and 2) if you do, you can guarantee they will be keeping their thoughts to themselves in the future. And that, without a doubt, would be to your detriment.

So if you want to weigh the good, the bad, the ugly, and the occasional wild hair idea that may hold a nugget of genius, it’s really not all that hard . . .

Ask, and you shall receive!