Believing the experts blindly comes at great cost. Sure many experts are on point and full of great insights. However, each of us has blind spots or occasionally miss the mark. So what, right?
Consider that becoming an expert involves more than just following sage advice from those that have gone before us. We become experts by exploring our hunches and making bold predictions in the face of the impossible. Yes, this leads us to faltering from time to time, but trying to avoid forging your own path will come at a much greater cost.
If you only listen and repeat what current experts say, you are nothing more than a parrot that sings the praises of an existing expert. To become an expert yourself, you have to go into the wilderness of making your own decisions. You will at some point say something contrary to what other experts are saying, but what if you are right? Don't doubt your own intellect and education.
You must continually absorb new information and decide whether to incorporate or discard it. This is no easy task, but you need to constantly question validity. Perhaps, I'm right, but what are the ramifications if I'm not? I'm not encouraging being argumentative or disagreeable needlessly, but am encouraging you to use the intellect you have and educate yourself on topics for clarity. Becoming an expert takes time, but your unique view may be just what others need.
You believe me, right?
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Miriam Miles, Founder at Resonate - Online Presence Development
I love how you finish with 'you believe me, right?' - good one. But I do agree with you that self directed learning is vital for establishing a unique view on all things. Incorporate that with formal education and training, and you develop that perspective that you mention, being able to really help people, rather than just wanting to, but not being able to say more than what every other person is saying. I think too, that a unique leadership model comes from trial and error. And since we all succeed and fail at different things and learn uniquely, our perspectives will naturally be different. Maybe it's also worth pointing out to those aspiring to leadership roles, that they can merge their personal learning and experience with their more formal education and that by doing this, they respect the journey and bring fresh ideas to the table. So often our culture relies on the piece of paper to determine a person's proof and while this is necessary in many fields, it's not the only element that makes a great leader. Bring in the personal; let it inform the way we relate to others and respond to challenges. People learn so much more from what they see being done than they do from what they're being told. Lead by example, using your personal strengths and experiences, and show others they're uniqueness is valuable as well.
Jef Lippiatt, Owner at Startup Chucktown
Miriam, thanks for the comment and perspective. What led me to write this was that lately I've heard people blindly siding with "experts" without thinking for themselves about the issues. I think expert opinions are great, but they shouldn't take the place of you learning and forming your own conclusions.