Today I would like to share some thoughts about Expert Leadership.
Historically, leadership has mainly referred to managers and executives, rather than to more technical professionals, such as experts. However, leadership is not about hierarchy, it is about inspiring and helping others grow and become the best version of themselves. And this can definitely be achieved by experts. Today I meet with an expert in my company known as “Fox” to share our views on this growing concept of Expert Leadership…
Me: Bonjour Fox, great to see you. You have recently finished the Expert Leader Program at our company, the French bank Societe Generale. This is a nice occasion to share our views on the concept of Expert Leadership, but before that, what did this program bring to you?
Fox: Well, surprisingly enough, it allowed me to work on everything except for my technical expertise, that is, on everything that can boost my expert impact and influence, such as listening, communication, innovation, simplification, empathy, emotional intelligence…
Me: So, what is an Expert Leader for you?
Fox: For me, it is an expert who makes other experts grow, someone with the posture to mentor other experts and to help them develop their impact and their soft skills and truly express their expertise
Me: What comes to my mind is some kind of multiplying effect: it is a person who not only masters a key expertise, but also has the leadership to help others make the most of their expertises
Fox: Another important aspect is synergies as well as breaking business and people silos. Of course, you are sometimes challenged by other experts when doing so, what forces you to get out of your comfort zone, but this is often done with benevolence and in a positive way
Me: Benevolence, synergies, getting out of your comfort zone… I like it
Fox: Indeed, in order to get out of your comfort zone you need to feel safe but also manage to get rid of usual politics in big organizations. Also, we are asked to dare and allow ourselves new things. This is the spirit of such expertise development initiatives and this is what was shared by the sponsors who came and discuss with us during the program. So, Pedro, what is your definition of an Expert Leader?
Me: For me, it is someone who inspires experts, someone you want to follow and who awakes in other experts the will to grow. You can be impressed by the technical knowledge of a guru, but what truly inspires you is to feel that this person is really making you grow as an expert. As a coach, I think it is about becoming the best version of yourself as an expert
Fox: I like it. For me an expert is like a superhero. Superheroes have superpowers but you need to master them and train every day. Every superhero can and has to inspire others, and not only in terms of technical expertise
Me: Interesting image! As kids, you only see the advantages of being a superhero, such as flying, or being super-fast or strong, but when you grow up, you also see the responsibilities involved and a lot of adults would actually refuse to have those superpowers. It is a heavy responsibility that an Expert Leader must have the courage to accept
Fox: You have to deserve to be an Expert Leader, it is not honorific title. As we say, “large power, large responsibilities”. Societe Generale also makes us realize this when joining this program. We are told “we rely on you to help us transform the bank and so you are co-responsible on this”, and this is not always easy. All the participants are motivated and willing to change things, but maybe a future stake of the program is to make sure it is not a heavy burden to carry by them
Me: Indeed. When I see the way you are organizing yourselves as a community of senior experts in the company, I realize that you have not only taken this responsibility, but done it together. The collective dimension allows you to maximize your impact, you are becoming a league of superheroes!
Fox: That relates to total confidence, benevolence and the lack of politics I mentioned earlier, it is about being an anonymous superhero
Me: Interesting. So, experts on their own could be easily overloaded, but the community protects them. This community is not only about having a larger collective impact but also about preserving your well-being as individual expert. I hadn’t seen this at first, I have to admit.
Fox: It is indeed key to have someone you can talk to with no fear, in order to see reality from other angles. Leveraging on these different points of view we can build all together a brand-new journey
Me: I don’t usually share this with participants, but members of this program are particularly grateful to have the opportunity to follow this development journey and this makes it special for me to run it
Fox: Sure, the Expert Leader Program is really inspiring and it has to remain inspiring. You can’t imagine how it feels to be selected to be part of this program; we are proud because it is very selective and it is also a way for the organization to recognize us as experts. It increases our sense of belonging to Societe Generale. And it is an important way to attract and to keep experts in the Group
Me: So, Fox, now that you finished this program, what would you advise to experts who want to develop their leadership?
Fox: What comes to my mind is a sentence that one of the coaches/trainers of this program shared during a public speaking session of the bootcamp: “fake it until you make it”. So just dare! If you don’t dare, you won’t achieve anything. You need to pretend for example to be at ease speaking in front of a couple of hundred experts as happened to me last week, or dare to say what you think in meetings, but also dare to change your mind when needed. By doing so, you are really surpassing yourself. In general, everything goes well and your personal satisfaction is huge. If you do this every day, you are going to grow, inspire others and keep growing together. You need to dare to make the company grow, knowing that our company supports us in this
Me: For me, you truly embody this leadership. I am sure that not only you dare, but you also encourage more junior experts to dare, people who come and see you due to your leadership, your expert leadership. Well done Fox and thank you so much for this conversation
Fox: Thank you !
Fox & me after our conversation
People Innovation & Development 