Why expertise doesn't always mean trust

Beware of self-claimed #experts. Overstepping Boundaries in Expertise: #Credentials Matter. In today’s fast-paced world, the title of expert is thrown around loosely. But let’s pause for a moment—what does being an "expert" really entail? Too often, I’ve seen individuals take certifications or experiences from one area and apply them haphazardly to completely different fields. Many use their personal experiences and self-certify themselves. No! working in 1 pharma company doesn't make you an expert on all drugs. Neither does going through a bad marriage make you a couples therapist. Simply put, a certified #coach might excel in action learning or executive coaching, but that does not automatically qualify them as a #mentalhealth coach. Similarly, we see #EQ experts who, despite having a medical degree, do not possess the specific training required to navigate the complexities of #emotionalintelligence coaching. Just as a dentist is not an ENT specialist, expertise doesn’t always translate across disciplines. The dangers of this boundary #overstepping are real. When individuals stretch their credentials too thin, they not only risk misleading their clients but also devalue the very fields they claim to master. Two key takeaways: 📌Specialization matters. Just because someone is knowledgeable in one domain does not mean they can expertly navigate another. Always check credentials carefully before hiring them. Trainers are plenty, choose wisely. Get recommendations. Don't go for popularity and fun. Go for those whose knowledge and experiences will add #value to your team. 📌Stay in your lane. True professionals respect the #boundaries of their qualifications. If you don’t have the proper training, acknowledge it and refer clients to those who do. Let’s maintain the integrity of professional expertise. Would you check before you award #jobs?

Most LinkedIn content from "experts" feels fake because it actually is fake. I was reviewing a potential client's content strategy yesterday, and something felt completely wrong. The posts were well-structured. The advice seemed solid. The engagement was decent. But it felt hollow and inauthentic. That's when I realized there are two types of personal branding on LinkedIn. The first type is expertise for expertise's sake. People sharing generic business advice just to sound smart. It feels like empty authority because that's precisely what it is. The second type is genuine experience shared authentically. These are insights someone learned through real struggle and success. The authority comes from lived experience, not borrowed wisdom. The difference is intent and authenticity. Fake expertise asks: "What can I say that makes me sound like an expert?" Real expertise asks: "What did I learn that could genuinely help someone else?" When you share content from genuine experience, it doesn't feel like thought leadership theater. It feels like someone offering real value based on what they've actually been through. The source matters as much as the message. You can share valuable insights without sounding preachy. You can demonstrate expertise without manufacturing authority. Most people get this wrong because they think expertise means having all the answers. You don't need to be perfect to be helpful. The best content comes from authentic experience, not manufactured credibility. When someone reads it, they should think "This person actually knows what they're talking about because they've been there." That's the difference between content that builds trust and content that feels like empty noise. One comes from real experience. The other comes from desperate positioning. Which one are you creating?

Some experts haven't updated their slides since Windows 95. But their CVs still open every door. Recently I worked with a senior advisor -- confident, polished, with a portfolio of best falafel places across the Middle East -- and genuinely unbothered by the fact that his four-slide deck looked straight out of 1998. He represented what donors still call expertise: decades of experience, a famous employer, and a billing rate that implies brilliance. But ask him about new procurement models or adaptive contracting, and you'll get a blank stare. Then there are the young engineers I met in Zambia, who can map the local water system from memory, anticipate political moods, and translate drought data into real-world choices. They know which district officer will actually pick up the phone on a Friday. They read the unspoken dynamics between ministries better than any consultant I know. Yet they're rarely invited into proposal teams. They lack the "years of experience" checkbox. Our sector keeps confusing tenure with wisdom. We reward repetition, not renewal. So while academia advances and communities adapt daily, many consulting teams still operate from frameworks that should live in archives. Maybe expertise isn't about how long you've been right - but how recently you've been curious. When was the last time you learned something that made you rethink your expertise? Repost to help your network. Follow @Yulia Titova for more water insights.

Here's why too much reliance on expertise can be a leadership pitfall. The 🔥 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁'𝘀 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 is real. Leaders who trust their knowledge above all else may miss fresh perspectives. When you close the door to new ideas, you stifle innovation and adaptability. What about the 🔥 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? Believing you have all the answers sets the stage for poor decision-making. True leaders embrace curiosity and a willingness to learn. Even in fields where they excel. Then there's the issue of 🔥 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀. Leaders dominate discussions with their expertise. And team members may hesitate to contribute. This discourages a variety of ideas. It also reduces the collective problem-solving potential. So, how do we overcome this? Embrace a 🔥 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁. Successful leaders actively seek knowledge and perspectives outside their expertise. This humility inspires growth. It encourages a culture of continuous learning. But it doesn’t stop there. 🔥 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 transforms the environment. Value the contributions from all team members. When expertise is shared, it fosters dynamic and inclusive decision-making. Let’s rethink leadership. It’s not just about what you know. It’s about how open you are to learning from others. What fresh perspectives have you embraced lately?

“After all, technology and competencies have never been so cheap and accessible – while trusted relationships, conversely, have never been so hard to build.” This quote—from an HBS case on a company undergoing transformation—sparked deep reflection among the leaders in a session I just led. We live in a world where AI can write code, résumés list impressive credentials, and knowledge is one search away. But none of that replaces the hard, human work of building trust. Trust doesn’t come with a certification. You can’t delegate it. And it doesn’t scale with speed. It’s built in moments we often overlook: — When we truly listen — When we admit we don’t know — When we speak candidly, even when it’s uncomfortable In the session, one leader asked a powerful question: “If trust is this foundational, why don’t we treat it like a priority rather than a byproduct?” That led us to an honest look inward. How often do we pause to ask: Am I making it easier or harder for others to trust me? Another leader put it nicely: “It’s easier than ever to look competent. But being trustworthy? That still takes real work.” And I’d add: That’s real work worth doing. Because when trust is present, everything else—collaboration, innovation, performance—has a fighting chance. Without it, even the best strategy falters. #Leadership #Trust #HumanConnection #CultureMatters #Change #Tranformation #Authenticity

Deloitte’s AI scandal last week, where generative tools reportedly fabricated parts of client deliverables, is a credibility crisis for the entire Consulting industry. Clients are already asking: how often is this happening elsewhere, but going undetected? How many business decisions are already being made based on false, AI-created data and are we quietly entering a post-truth business world? Regulation can’t keep up, and there are no robust tools to monitor or verify what’s being produced. Governance frameworks are weak, internal controls are inconsistent and AI output is increasingly indistinguishable from genuine expert work. For an industry built on trust, rigour, and professional accountability, that’s an existential problem. AI can now generate polished, confident answers that seem correct and humans increasingly are relying on them without verifying whether they are accurate. As false citations, invented data and fabricated insights slip into official reports, the line between real expertise and AI-generated illusion blurs. The risk isn’t just reputational; it’s commercial. Clients will start asking why they’re paying premium fees for advice they suspect may have been written by a machine. Deloitte’s incident exposes a deeper truth: the value of consulting has always rested on trust. When AI makes knowledge universal and undifferentiated, that trust, and the human judgment behind it, becomes the only real differentiator left. As Mark Cuban said, “The only thing AI can’t do is say no.” In a world of synthetic content, AI-led distortion and instant “expertise,” genuine human connection is becoming the most valuable currency. The conversations, judgment calls and experiences we once took for granted are now the only things that can’t be automated and, seemingly too often, the only things that still make advice worth paying for.

Throughout my career I’ve seen tension around the concepts of seniority (titles), expertise (speciality) and tenure (years inside an organization), and how this impacts influence, decision making and professional growth. Take for instance, me, 15 years ago, I was Founder/CEO of a technology consultancy servicing some of the biggest brands in the world. I had seniority, I had founded the company a couple years earlier in my parents basement as a 20 year old. I had tenure, I was the longest employed of a group of ~25 people. But I was early in my career, had little expertise, and had a lot to learn. When we started to hire experts in various fields, it wasn’t immediately obvious to me that their expertise can and should at times hold more influence than my seniority and tenure. That we hired them not to do what I think or direct, but to help me learn, think and know where to lead us. I can see in hindsight how this was sometimes frustrating for these people. They were experts, but they didn’t always have the agency to exercise that expertise because it wasn’t obvious to me early on in my career that I needed to trust them more. At Facebook, I tried something different. We grew a team from ~20 to 200+ over a course of 2.5 years. At some points on this journey, I was amongst the most senior and tenured in our organization, but not always the subject matter expert. I made the decision to let the incredible hires we were bringing on our teams help guide me, and very quickly I learned that leaning into their expertise, no matter their tenure or seniority helped us all achieve more. How does this tie to professional growth? If you focus on business success rather than personal success, and leverage the expertise around you, even when… - it takes the spotlight off you - changes how you expect things to be done - lessens your overall scope …you might just find yourself achieving your professional goals faster because as the business grows so will the opportunities for you. Have you been in a similar situation? Would love to hear about it…

Think you can always trust the experts? Think again. A recent study on forecasting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) revealed something shocking: experts are often unrealistically optimistic about treatment effects. Here's the kicker: even when presented with information suggesting an intervention might not work, these "experts" stuck to their guns. Why does this matter? 1️⃣ It can lead to misallocation of resources 2️⃣ It might perpetuate ineffective interventions 3️⃣ It could slow down real progress in important fields So what can we do? 1. Always look for evidence, not just expert opinions 2. Be open to updating your beliefs when new information comes in 3. Remember: even experts can fall prey to cognitive biases Next time an expert makes a bold claim, take a step back and ask: "What's the evidence behind this?" Because sometimes, a healthy dose of skepticism is the real expertise we need.💡 What do you think? Have you ever encountered an "expert" opinion that turned out to be wrong?

No shortage of opinions or people thinking they’re the experts these days. I’m reminded every day that I’m not one. It’s humbling and freeing. It’s also why I could not love the story of ByteSize, Experts Exchange's newsletter, and the lesson behind it more. Their first attempt at a newsletter was a train wreck. A community of 6M+ IT pros fact-checked their newsletter into the ground. Every inaccuracy got called out. The marketers behind it didn’t stand a chance against readers who literally get paid to spot errors. That’s a rough morning stand-up. BUT it pushed a necessary strategic shift. They stopped trying to out-expert the experts, and positioned themselves as curators. The move accomplished three things senior marketers should pay attention to: • 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁: Admitting “we’re not the experts” will build trust after a credibility gap. • 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Content shifted from broadcasting opinions to surfacing what the community itself was finding, discussing, and caring about. • 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Curating allowed them to publish consistently without burning out trying to “sound smart.” It led to a 47% open-rate newsletter that today, generates meaningful revenue and acts as a standalone product. Authority doesn’t come from trying to know more than your audience. It does, however, grow when your audience understands that you deeply care and understand them. Sometimes the smartest move is admitting you’re not the smartest person in the room. The full playbook from the ‘arb is available now.