So you’re dealing with someone who’s an expert and they gladly volunteer to talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? In this age of having so many professionals and experts on about every subject it’s extremely important to be able to evaluate someone’s level of expertise. Especially when you may have to rely on this expertise to make critical decisions.
A Post on Anecdote, “Evaluating Expertise,” gives some good hints that may help:
- Listen for stories. Without stories advice and expertise remains abstract and devoid of experience. Become aware of the richness of the storyÄîhow detailed are they? do they include facts?
- Are they ever wrong? IÄôm suspicious of people who purport to have all the answers and have never made a mistake in their life.
- Can they see whatÄôs missing? Deep expertise is not just the ability to see whatÄôs happening and make suggestions for improvement but the ability to see whatÄôs missing and knowing what to leave out. This idea was introduced to me in Gary KleinÄôs book on Intuition.
- Simple, clear language. If you really understand what you are talking about you should be able to convey your ideas simply, clearly and concisely.
- Triangulate the expertise with your social networks. Jim tells me that Martha knows her stuff; Anne tells me that Martha is top notch; but Martha doesnÄôt keep telling me how wonderful she is. My confidence in Martha is high.
- An expert in one field doesnÄôt make them an expert in everything. There is a well known psychological pattern where if people believe a person is an expert in a field, such as corporate strategy, they are inclined to believe that person in also expert in other similar fields, such as mergers and acquisitions.
It’s a hard thing sometimes to make the judgment but just remember, just because someone is an expert in one thing doesn’t make then an expert in everything.
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