It’s not unusual for us to believe, as leaders, we have to have all the answers and be an expert to take our place at the leadership table. It’s an aspect of leadership (especially when new to the job) that can leave us struggling with confidence and imposter syndrome whilst we’re learning the role.
The myth is that we have to be an expert before we can be of value. It’s a confidence thing. I liken it to a jar of marmite. The jar doesn’t have to be full for it to be of use, we get marmite out of it even when it’s only half full. Yet with our internal jars of knowledge we so often under estimate the contents unless they’re full. It can lead to us not sharing ideas, asking questions of challenging others. Our lack of confidence wants the jar to be full so we’re sure we know enough.
I don’t have a full jar (and I perhaps never will as I believe we’re always learning) and yet I know I can share something of value. If we wait for ours jars to be full, to be experts we may never share the things that’ll help others, innovate, solve problems and create new ideas in the world.
You don’t have to know all the answers to be an expert and you don’t have to have a full jar of knowledge to have expertise in something. In fact it's part of our continuous improvement journey and a concept I talk about in LeaderZEN, the benefit of having a beginners mind.
These expertise we add to our jar don’t always come from our CV either. I believe our life events and lived experience can provide just as much expertise and if we’re not sharing that with the world we’re missing out.
So next time you’re worried you’re not ‘expert enough’ or waiting for more knowledge to accumulate in your jar remember the marmite and no matter how much is in there it’s always useful!