Today I was talking to someone about being The Expert. How we feel like we need to be the expert otherwise why would someone pay us to do what we do?
Our conversation was about why we do what we do.
And then why we get paid to do what we do.
And if we have to be an expert to get paid.
But what is an expert?
The Dictionary says ‘a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area.’
It does not say you need qualifications, certificates, accolades. Sometimes we don’t think we are an expert because we don’t have ‘the papers’.
But we also discussed the role of Interest. What if you are just really interested in a subject? What if you don’t proclaim to have all the answers but you have all the curiosity? What if you endlessly write about it, experience it, talk about it, read up on it, research it. Then what are you?
We discussed that being an Explorer of a subject might be just a valuable as being the expert.
We expect Experts to have answers.
Explorers can have questions.
It could be argued the Explorer learns more, goes deeper, understand perspectives as they are not constrained by expectations.
So it’s just as justified to be paid to be an Explorer as being an Expert.
Why is this important?
Because we sometimes we believe we can only do things that we know about, that we are an Expert in. Otherwise, who are we to do be doing it?
But you can be an expert, an expert Explorer. Asking all the right questions, creating all the right energy, developing fresh ideas.
So maybe that thing you really want to do but believe you cant do it because you are not the Expert, maybe you can be the expert Explorer.
eleanor