But who’s actually got expertise?
“Expertise is not knowledge alone. It can’t be knowledge alone because it lacks the nuance and context that’s required to transfer that impact to another person”.
That’s a quote from Dr Patrick Aouad (neurologist) in conversation with Mia Fileman on her Got Marketing podcast.
Now you might know that with a neuro allied health background, I geek out on these kinds of conversations.
And when I heard the quote above, it really resonated.
Years ago, I worked as an occupational therapist at the MS Society. MS is a neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. It affects everyone differently, from mobility, to speech, continence to sensation, fatigue, to cognition, or any other area of function.
I used to do home visits aimed at helping the client to remain as independent as possible. This included fatigue management and energy conservation (which is where my boundaries work started), assessing for and prescribing assistive technology or helping them return to or remain at work.
It wasn’t possible to just tell someone what they needed to do, as the so-called expert. Because it was nuanced.
It required a ‘plant the seed and build trust’ approach; learning when to be direct, honest and still empathetic, with knowing when to listen, hold space and allow the person time; understanding a person’s situation, their support system, their resilience at a particular point in time, and so much more.
In this AI information age, real change doesn’t come from purely knowledge alone. Or as Dr Patrick said,
“I think you need knowledge to have expertise. I think that you also need to have experience to have expertise”.
Dr Patrick Aoaud on the Got Marketing Podcast
The knowledge one person needs explained in a particular way requires a whole different approach with someone else for it to ‘land’. When you find someone positioning themselves as the ‘expert’, make sure they’ve got the experience to go with it.
Because anyone can be an information expert at any time. But experience? That’s the long game that comes from learning, applying, integrating, teaching, and most importantly, conveying a message in a way that lands for the person in front of them.
I say it all the time, but Human Design (or boundaries, mindset, business coaching or anything else) won’t change your life until you integrate it, experiment with it, and test it. Until you hear it explained in a way that has meaning for you.
Your expertise doesn’t only come from your knowledge – you could have more credentials as a photographer than anyone else. But until you’ve got your hours up in shooting in all lights and helping clients to position themselves in a flattering pose and editing and honing your entire process, you’re not an expert at all. You just know a lot about a topic.
This is why I love working with Human Design. It’s not just another set of knowledge to memorise. It’s a tool that shows you exactly how you are meant to build trust, lead, and share what you know.
Just your Profile alone offers a powerful lens:
- Are you a 2-line, building trust through natural gifts?
- A 5-line, sharing practical solutions with a wide reach?
- A 4-line, creating change through connection and community?
Your experience is your expertise – along with your specialised knowledge – and Human Design helps you own it.
So if you’re navigating a sea of strategies, systems, and so-called experts, come up for air. Then come back to yourself. Because the way you’re designed to work, decide, lead, and share? It’s a blueprint within you.
Human Design doesn’t just tell you who you are. It gives you a permission slip to lead through your lived experience. And that’s what makes you magnetic. Not just your knowledge. But your authenticity.
Ready to uncover the unique way you’re meant to show up in business? Start with your chart, and I’ll show you the rest.
