I believe one goal that everyone has, regardless of industry or profession, is to reach expert status in something. There are a lot of definitions about what makes a true “expert”. For our purposes, let’s define an expert as:
Someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, and occupation and in a particular area of study. Experts have a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field.
So if you buy this definition, or a variation of it, the real question is: how do you do it? How does one become someone widely recognized as being an expert or as having achieved expert status in something?
Let’s use the definition above and start from the bottom.
1) The importance of prolonged or intense experience through practice and education.
Experts don’t just fall out of their chairs and become experts at something. There has to be some period of time – either a relatively short but intense period, or a prolonged timeframe – when someone goes through significant education, practice and repetition in their field. I will use the example of a professional athlete. All professional athletes have reached expert status in their sport, regardless of whether they are a household name or a low-level pro. They have gone through countless hours on the practice field or court. They have undergone intense research and studying related to technique, skill, and their competition. Finally, they have honed these skills over and over again so that they are natural and subconscious. This in most cases takes years, and even close to, or more than, a decade.
The lesson for everyone here is: reaching expert status in your field is not quick and is not easy, and it takes repetition. So bring your lunch pail.
2) The importance of extensive knowledge through education, research and occupation.
Those who reach expert status know what they’re talking about, and have studied (education & research) and lived (occupation) their craft. Both are important, and necessary. An expert marketer, for instance, cannot be deemed a true expert if he or she has simply read a lot of books about marketing and is up to speed on the history of the profession. He or she must actually have lived it and used their educational knowledge alongside practical, real-life experience.
The lesson for everyone here is: reaching expert status in your field requires actual real-life experience and success, as well as a foundational education which provides perspective. So read, learn and DO.
3) The importance of having a faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely which is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain.
In other words, no one person can proclaim themselves an expert. It has to be widely believed by your peers or through public court of opinion. Reaching expert status requires a forum, or an audience, to listen to what you say, judge or decide and believe that your insights are credible. For instance, I can’t read a dozen books about U.S. foreign policy and then come out and declare myself an expert in foreign policy. Rather, combining the first two points above, I have to have some segment of the population believe that I’m an expert through my words and actions, backed up by actually doing something notable in the world of foreign policy. This would probably mean that I would have to give public speeches about foreign policy, do some writing and have journalists comment on my thoughts, consult with governments about the topic and provide lots of interviews with news sources.
The lesson for everyone here is: reaching expert status in your field requires you to actually get “out there” in front of people. You need to share your thoughts and opinions and bestow your wisdom on others. Most experts cannot hide in total anonymity. So get out there and start creating your audience of believers!
