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There’s something really broken about the way we’re taught to think about “expertise,” and I realize more and more how it’s a huge contributor to impostor syndrome and its evil twin: bullshit posturing.
(Sorry, I’ll need a brief thread...)
(Sorry, I’ll need a brief thread...)
When we come into the work world, we’re told to respect expertise. Which makes sense, but it also implies expertise is something you either have or don’t have. That’s simply not true.
Expertise is a journey you’re always on. It’s not a fixed point. You don’t cross a line one day and, boom, you’re an expert!
But people start to think expertise is a binary, yes/no thing. The undertone is simple: respect the experts and hope someday to get on their level. That’s dumb. Human knowledge doesn’t have a rigid hierarchy.
So if you aren’t an expert but you want respect, what do you do?
You fake it.
And depending on your personality, you either constantly feel like an impostor or you buy into your own BS.
You fake it.
And depending on your personality, you either constantly feel like an impostor or you buy into your own BS.
Both are toxic, one to yourself and the other to those around you.
And both find themselves “demanding respect” because they think that’s the equation. “I’m an expert” = “I deserve respect.”
And both find themselves “demanding respect” because they think that’s the equation. “I’m an expert” = “I deserve respect.”
It’s all horse shit. The entire way we think about expertise is horse shit. We’re tormenting ourselves every day pretending to be something that doesn’t even exist.
Yes, you should respect people’s knowledge. Yes, you should strive to understand things at a high level. But if you think expertise is a yes/no thing, you’re going to rush yourself to get it in hopes you’ll “deserve respect” sooner.
And faux experts are too defensive, proud and insecure to keep learning and asking good questions. They’re under constant, self-imposed pressure to convey perfection.
The solution? We shouldn’t fetishize expertise.
Instead we should celebrate curiosity and passion. Yes, appreciate someone’s experience, but more so their commitment to expanding their knowledge throughout their careers (and sharing it with others).
Instead we should celebrate curiosity and passion. Yes, appreciate someone’s experience, but more so their commitment to expanding their knowledge throughout their careers (and sharing it with others).
True expertise is just curiosity and passion multiplied by time.
So wherever you are in your career, don’t try to rush the idea of people seeing you as an expert. Just take pride in what you DO know and stay humble about the sprawling ocean of what you don’t.
People, or at least the people who matter, will appreciate your openness and dedication a lot more than they would with yet another self-appointed expert.
/thread (Thanks for sticking with me!)
/thread (Thanks for sticking with me!)
