Leading People Who Know More Than You Do or Do Work You’ve Never Done

As leaders gain more experience and rise in organizations, they invariably lead people who do work they have never done and know things that they don’t know.

As a result, leaders are often asked questions they cannot answer or even understand. So, how do leaders show up credibly to those who are more expert than they are?

Good leaders don’t lose confidence in their authority to lead, nor do they feign that they know things they don’t. Instead, they dig in and do what all leaders who lead experts do to establish their credibility. They focus on understanding what obstacles stand in the way of their experts.

Learning what makes their work more difficult, the processes and people they depend on to deliver their work, what impediments or roadblocks get in their way, and the deadlines and pressures they face — that’s what experts want from their leaders.

They don’t need guidance. They need resourceful support.

Leaders who take the time to understand the hurdles they face gain enormous credibility. Team members don’t expect leaders to remove barriers as much as they desire for those above them to appreciate that the roadblocks exist.

If, on occasion, a leader makes their work easier by addressing a difficulty, then great.

But the real value is found in a leader who doesn’t pretend to add value by asking “insightful” questions or by getting involved in issues they don’t understand but rather invests in thinking through any interference the expert must confront.

When a leader knows and appreciates the barriers to success, the leader then becomes credible to offer their views on the tasks and processes that comprise the expert’s work.

The good news is that observant and inquisitive leaders can learn about impediments in weeks, not months or years. Once armed with this understanding, they are accepted as equal partners in the pursuit of excellence.

While eliminating obstacles and roadblocks is always a blessing, it is understanding what they are that carries the most weight with experts and those who do work leaders are unfamiliar with.

Real talent will find a way around or through a roadblock, and they desire a leader who appreciates and assists in the workaround.