Starting from experience and why no one is really an expert
Have you ever felt like everyone else knows what they are doing and you are just... well, making it up? Well chances are they are making it up too – we all are a little bit I think. I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the last few weeks as I am beginning to venture into the world of social media and keep seeing "experts" everywhere.
When I was younger I saw things as quite black and white – you either knew the answer or you didn’t. And I probably went out of the way to position myself as an expert on things – when I definitely wasn’t. Actually I was just worried I wasn’t good enough but had a great memory for information so knew things conceptually but couldn't actually put any of it in to practice.
At the same time, I started do a lot of work on myself, trying to put all of those worries away and actually be a bit more confident in my own skin. I learnt all about what a growth mindset is and began a bit of a transformational growth journey of my own.
Growth vs Fixed Mindset
Put really simply, a fixed mindset is one where you believe you can’t (and don't need to?) change. That your intelligence and abilities are fixed and you can’t learn anything new (and possibly that you already know everything you need to).
Just think about how limiting that is – you end up being in a defensive position all the time because you can’t be wrong. Everyone who gives you feedback is immediately out to get you because either you can't do anything about it or you believe that you are always in the right and they couldn't add value – I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
A growth mindset takes the opposite position. One where we are always learning and we can always change. It takes the position that we can always do better and always learn more. Which means that even people who have lots of specialist experience and knowledge don’t consider themselves to be true experts because there is so much still to know.
There’s an inherent connection to confidence in these two mindsets. Where a fixed mindset implies a lack of confidence – that you can’t change, that everyone else is against you. A growth mindset depends on the confidence to be vulnerable and belief in yourself – and other people – to do better. I’ve linked an article at the bottom of this blog by Carol Dweck who has pioneered the research on mindsets and can explain it far better than me.
The expert dilemma
So now I’m trying to live my growth mindset life I’m in a position where I don’t think there are many people who are really experts in anything! Even academics who study subjects these topics for years don’t claim to know everything about a topic – and keep researching all the time, because there is more and more to learn.
The most obvious place to see this play out is in science. Take someone like Professor Brian Cox - a particle physicist and popular science broadcaster. He is undeniably "an expert" but one of the phrases he uses most in interviews about his field is "we don't know the answer to that yet". Because they haven't figured it out yet. So he is an expert - but he spends a lot of time telling us he doesn't know. How does that work?
Meanwhile – on the Internet.... It seems like everyone is in a battle to prove they are the most expert of the experts. How often do you read a post or watch a reel that can show you how to have a better life by putting all your things in labelled containers, or getting up at 4am and meditating, running and journalling before you make breakfast? I get the challenge - they need to grab your attention because they are so many voices - and an easy way to do this is to tell you how to make your life better. The question is how does that take into account our individuality and our strengths? I don't mind getting up early but the time and effort taken to journal or create labelled boxes for everything far outweighs the benefits to me. I don’t think there is only one way of doing something, or that you should think there is only one way of doing something, and especially that you need an expert to tell you how. It's all about finding the way that works for you. And other people can help you with that but some of it you need to figure out for yourself.
Starting from experience
Because while all of the content we see on social media might make it seem like everyone has a better or the right way of doing things – it’s unlikely your approach is completely wrong. Actually the approach you take is informed by everything you have learnt and done before.
So in the same way I don’t think that the experts know everything, I don't think you are starting from nothing either. We all have experience - in work, in life - that informs how we go about doing things. Whether it's in a corporate environment, through a sports team, at home or school/university, the changes are that you have transferrable skills. Are you good at selling? Are you analytical? Can you organise? Maybe you are one of those people that loves the labels on the boxes?! Every organisation needs a person who can be disciplined like that!!
So when you are starting something new it's worth remembering the experience you do have and while being open to learning is important, there's not just one way to do things - if someone is making you feel bad because you aren't doing it right, then think about whether they are the people you want to take inspiration from?
The way you become brilliant at something is to take all of the experience you have, and incorporate advice from others to create your own approach. And next time you watch an "expert" on social media, think for a second about whether they have a fixed mindset - are telling you that this is the ONLY way you can do something - or they are showing you a way to do it and helping you think about what works for you?
How I'm starting from experience....
As I said at the beginning, part of the reason I've been thinking about this topic is that I'm currently starting from experience myself - on social media. I'd love you to join me and in return I’ll happily share some of the things I have learned about change, leadership, management, storytelling and ideas on ways to make your or your teams work lives better. I don't have all the answers but I have got plenty of experience and lots of passion to help you find the solution that's right for you. I’d love to learn from you all too. I am @luellastoryteller on Instagram and TikTok and Luella Forbes on Linkedin (links below if that's easier).
If you want help starting from experience you can find more information on our For Careers page, or you can email us. For more information on mindsets from expert Carol Dweck - you can find her Harvard Business Review article here.