Explaining expertise

Last week a mentoring conversation turned to the subject of expertise. That particular discussion revolved around a couple of topics. The first, simple, what is expertise? And the second, more particular to the session, for my friend who is clearly a genius at something in business, how would we characterize him? What expertise does he have?

So, today’s newsletter will briefly look at expertise. I think it’s a bigger topic than I can deal with here. Indeed, the book I am currently working on - Practice: supporting work that matters - will go into a lot more detail. This week, I’ll give a quick sketch of how I think about expertise.

First, I should repeat something from my very first Creative Differences newsletter. I am not writing a glossary. I am not interested in defining expertise (or innovation, or practice) so much as I am interested in helping people exercise expertise thoughtfully. I described the approach as a form of scaffolding which enables us to build up some practical ideas.

Here’s some scaffolding around expertise …

Knowledge: The Foundation

Expertise builds on a thorough understanding of a specific field. This isn't just a surface-level acquaintance with basic concepts; it's a deep grasp of principles.

For example, a medical expert would have extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and disease pathology. This creates a rich mental framework (scaffolding, again?) to draw upon when diagnosing and treating patients. In contrast, a novice with only superficial knowledge would lack the foundational understanding to apply medical skills effectively.

Skill: Bridging theory and experience

While knowledge is an essential part of expertise, it's the practical application of this knowledge marks out expertise. Skills are developed not in the abstract, but in the real world, where theoretical knowledge meets real-life.

The medical expert would build their skills through clinical rotations, residencies, internships, and years of working with patients. With each patient encounter, they test and refine their technical skills while expanding their repertoire of experience. This allows them to manage uncommon conditions, handle uncertainties, and deal with complications.

Skill can be manifest without knowledge. In Scotland I knew a wonderful fiddler - Alex Haig - a really lovely player with a fine repertoire of tunes and excellent technique. But you couldn’t say he was knowledgeable; he hardly knew the names of most of the tunes he could play. He had little insight to the history of fiddle music. He read music quite well but had little understanding of music theory. He was a wonderful fiddler, but I think it’s fair to say he was not an expert in Scottish fiddle music.

(Remember the purpose here is not to make a dictionary definition, but to find creative differences that enable us to work more thoughtfully. Having distinct terms can really help with that thought process.)

Decision-making: the test of expertise

As this newsletter is mostly talking to business and technology readers, I have used decision-making as the test of expertise. But in other fields it may be a little different. What I am trying to say is that at some point the combination of knowledge and skill focusses on a point of action: an insight, a perception perhaps, but often culminating in a decision.

Decision-making is about evaluating situations, developing options, and choosing the best course of action. In other fields, there are other practical applications which can stand as a sign of expertise.

Our now highly experienced doctor can rapidly yet carefully assess patients, weigh treatment tradeoffs, and decide on evidence-based interventions tailored to the situation. Their expertise allows them to make decisions that novices would struggle with, benefiting from years of accumulated knowledge and clinical judgment. This decision-making prowess is the mark of their medical expertise.

What’s your game?

Defining one's own expertise can be a challenging yet illuminating process. Clearly, with this scaffolding, you could reflect on the unique skills, knowledge, and judgement you’ve cultivated over your journey so far.

What problems are you exceptionally good at solving for your organization and clients? What niche insights do you possess from years of experience that you can speak fluently to? What key decisions have you successfully taken?

At that intersection of your specializations, wisdom, and hard-won decision-making you’ll find your distinctive expertise. Don’t get hung up on terms but think about how this helps you to move forward with some confidence, while looking for areas to improve.

Fiddling the results

But then I wonder about my friend the fiddler, with great skill but perhaps not much knowledge or theory. But then, they worked (played) in a field where they had few decisions to make. Or did they? What should they play at the quiet part of this wedding? What’s going to get the Friday-night crowd at the pub stamping their feet? If Scotland won at the rugby, what would raise the roof. Or if they lost, what then?

You know, I think perhaps Alex was an expert in his field after all.

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Finally, expertise is not static but dynamic and multifaceted. By teasing apart its core components - depth of knowledge, practical skills, and decision-making ability - we can better appreciate what it takes to achieve expertise and recognize it in ourselves and others.

These three aspects: knowledge, skill and practical application (or decision-making) mark out the expert.