Throughout my corporate work I regularly come across brilliant women who have become experts at what they do. We must all think this is a great situation, and it is to some extend. Who wouldn’t want to become an expert, meaning they are at the top of their mastery curve? However, as much as becoming an expert is very valued, staying an expert can potential hinder your future success. Bear with me as I explain further.
Experts are not gender-specific, but women have a particular twist in their professional attitude so this is what I want to focus on describing here. So who are they? Those women are usually in charge of a specific, often complex, project or task, liasing with multiple stakeholders. They possess strong technical skills and an accute knowledge coming from historical experience, training and personal interest. In other words throw them a question and they will have it covered. They are very talented at managing deadlines, challenges and communicating to others. They master operational excellence within their arena.
Behaviourly they are so committed and invested in their project that they have pretty much become ‘it’ – at least that’s how they are perceived by others. They are the ‘go to’ person and never leave anything unsolved. This often translates into extra efforts, long hours and also a certain enjoyment of being the ‘centre’ of the project. As rewarding as this might feel, it can also be career limiting without self-awareness. Have you found yourself stuck in a role that you knew everything about, whilst you wanted a change? Do you have people around you in this situation?
Yes this is what I will call the expert curve. You become so expert at what you do that you cannot be detached from the project. You have made yourself quite indispensable to the smooth running of operations. And at times you have become the ‘brand’ of that specific project internally. There is also a threat in that you can focus too much on your ‘content’ and lose sight of the bigger business picture. Typically if you find it challenging to fit all the information on slides or in emails you might be in this category.
So how do you prevent being pigeonholed & foster career opportunities for yourself? Firstly it’s important to tailor your content to your audience, not based on what you know. That way you become relatable, communicate with impact and you can effectively influence stakeholders. You might be passionate about the details, but chances are that your audience won’t. So make sure you only laser focus on what’s in it for them and cut back (it will save you time too).
The second important step to take to maximise your future opportunities is to do something else. By this I mean stretching yourself in areas you have no expertise in. Especially picking up tasks or participating in teams that are way outside your comfort zone. Because this will force you to steer away from your field and expand your personal brand at work. The best companies know how to take an excellent performer in one function and throw them into a different one to make them grow. This might not happen automatically for you, so you need to be proactive.
My last tip is a particular one for women. Because often behind being experts at what we do lies a dormant need for validation. This can breed some perfectionist tendencies which maintain the expectations of knowing it all, and having it all covered. And this isn’t going to get you ahead in your career, nor is it going to make you ever fulfilled. Because, as you know, you simply never get there. Also some women enjoy working away in their little ‘corner’ of expertise, as it can be easier than exposing themselves to potential external feedback. So ask yourself out of all the work you are doing on a project what is a reflection of the business needs, and what is self-driven? Sit with that one for a minute.
I am writing this here not to discourage women who are great at what they do. I mean this in the most caring possible way because I think it’s hard to realise our self-limiting tendencies. And I have been there myself, not understanding why I didn’t get other roles at the time. So if you are an expert and want to get to the next step, you need to start changing the way you behave at work. Start becoming more strategic with your communications, pick up new tasks and act like you are already planning to move on.
