The Next Tenet of Leadership

Leaders have superior expertise and information.

To examine this tenet of leadership I again go to Merriam Webster for clarification on the meaning of the words.

The meaning of Expertise:

1 : expert opinion or commentary
2 : the skill of an expert

The meaning of Expert:

having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience

The meaning of Information:

1 : the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence
2 : knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction

In the previous blog I noted that in order to lead someone you must know where you are going. It is interesting that the first definition of expertise is not the possession of knowledge, but the ability to covey that knowledge with opinion or commentary. This affirms my previous blog stating that good leaders need to know how to teach, how to transfer knowledge effectively. Being an expert is not good enough. Possessing the information is not leading unless you can guide others to the same understanding. But is this always true?

I think this tenet is true if you are leading someone in an environment that makes use of the information that you possess. I could be an expert in one field but not be able to lead someone in another field unless my expertise was somehow related to their goal. Being a good leader does not mean you can lead in every circumstance. Perhaps being a good leader entails knowing when to lead and when to follow. And I think when a leader is following they are learning and attaining new knowledge that may allow them to expand their leadership capabilities.