I help leaders unleash the talent on their teams and reclaim their power by unlearning silence. I’m the author of the USA Today Bestselling book on Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully (Penguin 2024). My vision is a future in which each individual knows, uses, and chooses where they lend their voice.
A Hidden Reason Your (or Your Team's) Expertise Isn't Getting Heard
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Hi Reader, Why don’t smart, capable people speak up? One unexpected reason is what psychologists call expert blindness. When you’re really good at something, you can forget – or be blind to – the fact that others can’t always see what you see or do what you do. Research often focuses on how expert blindness makes it difficult for experts to teach their expertise to others. But I want to focus on another gnarly side effect of being an expert – you can easily underestimate the power of your expertise. After all, if it’s obvious to you, isn’t it obvious to everyone? If it’s easy for you, it’s it easy for everyone? That assumption is a surefire way to undercut yourself professionally. I fell into this trap in a recent conversation. I literally heard the words “I assume everyone can do what I do…” come out of my mouth. When I stop and think about it, I know that’s not true. Not everyone can do what I do. I have a finely honed skillset (dare I call it a craft?) from having worked on 6 continents, studied and been faculty at Harvard Law School, facilitated leadership development experiences across industries, spoken on stages before more than 500k leaders over the span of 15+ years, and appeared on 2 Grammy award winning recordings. I’m also a mom, caregiver, and immigrant. I’ve been both low and high up on org charts, winning over the skepticism of those who think I'm too unassuming to have real impact. I've been recognized as a global management thinker to watch by Thinkers50 and my work on many "best of" lists. The number of people who have the same skillset and been battle-tested in the same way is pretty small. Possibly a sample size of exactly, well, just me. When we assume everyone else can do what we do, we
How can you own your expertise? Making that list will remind you of the reality that literally no one in the world has the same perspective, life experiences, cognitive emotional processing ability (to be technical about it), insights, and vantage point as you do. And if this isn’t something you struggle with, what about the people on your team? How often do they stay silent because they are thinking:
How can you unleash the talent on your team? Not being sure whether your perspective is welcome or valued makes people hesitant to share. As a leader, you have the power to draw out their perspective so organization can benefit from their expertise. One powerful way to do this is to explicitly name the lens from which you want to hear from them. For example:
We are each experts in different things and in different ways. My expertise doesn’t diminish yours, nor does your expertise diminish mine. Will you share your perspective? And can we, as leaders, make it easier for people to share theirs? Because when we do, we get a clearer picture of reality and operate in a reality where the sum is greater than its parts. With hope, Elaine When you’re ready, here are three ways I can help…
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How to Use Your Voice
I help leaders unleash the talent on their teams and reclaim their power by unlearning silence. I’m the author of the USA Today Bestselling book on Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully (Penguin 2024). My vision is a future in which each individual knows, uses, and chooses where they lend their voice.
Hi Reader, As humans, we're incredibly attune to how costly speaking up can be. If the cost of sharing our perspectives, insights, expertise, or ourselves is too high, then it makes sense that we wouldn't want to incur those costs. But what if we’re making these choices to speak up or stay silent based on incomplete analysis? I don’t know about you, but I don’t typically sit around and do a slow pro/con evaluation. The calculation of whether to speak up is typically split-second and often...
Hi Reader, Whose responsibility is it to make a conversation productive? You might argue that it’s their responsibility to speak up. They might argue that it’s your responsibility to make it safe for them to share. After all, if the real or perceived costs of speaking up are too great, silence makes sense. Power dynamics, life experiences, emotion, and perception all shape whether we dance around issues or really talk about what’s at stake. Too often, we get stuck in a cycle of pointing...
Hi Reader, A marketing director recently described how she had no problem speaking her mind to her peers. But put her in the C-Suite? That’s when it was hardest. It wasn’t just that she was the only one without a C level title. It was also that she didn’t think she had the credentials – she had gone to a state school while the C-levels were fancy-pants-Yales-and-Harvards. Speaking up can be hard enough. Speaking up when it’s up the org chart? When you feel out-credentialed? Even harder. Often...