Experts, not gurus.

It’s Wednesday, June 26th, and today we’re talking about conflating charisma with expertise.

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Expertise whispers, while empty bravado shouts from the rooftops.

And that, in a nutshell, is why thought leadership is a trap.

Digital Delusion:

The internet is a double-edged sword—while it democratizes access to knowledge, it also provides a perfect stage for anyone to claim expertise. Strangely, real experts are often the most reticent to tout their knowledge. Sometimes they’re plagued by the "curse" of knowing just how complex their field can be. More often, they’re plagued with self-doubt.

Meanwhile, self-proclaimed gurus fill this void with confidence and catchy sound bites, seducing the uninformed with their certainty.

I am often floored by the unwarranted confidence.

I’ve worked with so, so many well-known companies and leaders. Most are perfectly lovely, but I know of a few very vocal community “influencers” who have never built a community.

Yet I see them on social media hocking their expertise daily. It is very hard to stay stoic about this, but I’ve managed, because calling it out makes me the problem. (Man, the internet is a funny place)

History is littered with examples where blind faith in charismatic figures led to significant financial, emotional, and societal costs. From founders who led their investors to ruin (sup Adam Neumann), to health 'experts' peddling dangerous diets or untested treatments (hey Liver King!), the consequences of misplaced trust can be dire.

I have a borderline unhealthy relationship with the Theranos story. I’ve read every book, listened to every podcast, and watched every episode of Amanda Seyfried’s incredible portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. I can’t quite articulate why, out of all the fraudsters out there, Holmes has captivated my interest, but part of it is the idea that someone could build a business that is so obviously wrought with red flags but managed to snag a ten billion dollar valuation largely based on charisma alone.

It’s easy to scoff at the investors who continued to defend her, but I’m not sure we’re any different. We continue to conflate boldness with experience.

In the dance world, I come across this in two ways:

1. Dancers are booked to teach “master classes” based on Instagram followers. This means that 21-year-old social media sensations with zero teaching skill are booked and busy while incredibly skilled and wonderful dance teachers are overlooked because content is not a priority.

2. When I ask dancers who are new to my class to self-assess, the lesser experienced will often overestimate their skills and stand in front while advanced dancers will doubt their technique and stand in the back.

It’s a strange phenomenon, and it’s certainly not limited to dance. Some of the most brilliant people I know are reticent to say a word on social media. They don’t think their words matter or don’t want to add to the noise.

It presents a real conundrum: many of us recognize that building a following is a critical part of change-making, yet we’re trying to figure out a way to do it that feels real and useful. I will often tell people who seek my advice “ok, but even in community, I’m wrong a lot”, and I can see it: they don’t like that. They don’t want to hear me hedge.

The problem is, everyone is wrong sometimes. And if they’re learners, sometimes becomes a lot as we change our mind and get new info.

This idea that experts can tell us with brash certainty how to live, work, and play is crazy talk. But people crave binary answers. It makes us feel safe. And on the “guru” side, it’s much easier to talk in a one-size-fits-all manner than it is to have a bespoke conversation with the individual.

A few weeks ago I asked the question: Just how much BS am I contributing to the world? In short, it was a plea for all of us to take more personal responsibility in what we pay digital attention to.

It’s relevant here. People are never going to stop posing online.

You are the solution.

There are a few ways I see that can help close the gap between true expertise and mere showmanship:

Encourage Real Experts

Encourage those with genuine skills to share their knowledge more boldly. We all have super smart friends who hem and haw about being in the social limelight. Recognize and confront the imposter syndrome that plagues these experts. They must be reminded that their thoughtful insights are crucial for informed decision-making. They must understand that if they don’t share, people will continue to be led astray.

(This likely includes you. If you’ve built a track record, get out there and own that sh*t).

Scrutiny Over Blind Trust

As consumers of information, we need to become detectives. Before accepting someone's expertise, dig deeper.

Check their credentials, look for peer-reviewed articles or verified achievements, and scrutinize their track record. The internet might be vast, but it also provides the tools for thorough vetting. We’ve become lazy in our research.

On several occasions, I’ve gone to someone’s website and the first three testimonials were from other thought leaders who’ve never used their services but are just talking about how great they are. GTFOH.

This is why I have receipts. I keep as much evidence as possible of my time at HubSpot, Sony, or leading Google Venture Design Sprints. I have endless screenshots of reviews and testimonials. When someone comes to me, I want to leave them with no doubt of my experience. The point is: ask for receipts.

Dethrone the Gurus

Well, at least in your mind. Avoid putting thought leaders on pedestals. Recognize that everyone has biases and limitations and not a single one of them knows you or your circumstance. Even if they’ve built something successful, success in one area does not translate to wisdom in all areas.

If you struggle with this, start looking for the contradictions. You’ll find that many experts regularly contradict each other. Doesn’t mean any are wrong, only that people can only speak on what works for them.

Give Experts a Platform

If you are someone who books guests, speakers, or seeks collaborators, stop looking for the most popular. Instead, look for track record and substance. You may not get the “quick win”, but you sure as heck will be playing for the right team in the long game.

A warning that this is much harder than it sounds:

Many of you know that I used to work with Sam Parr of The Hustle. A few years ago, I was planning a 2X event, which was a signature Hustle event that highlighted a handful of women entrepreneurs, TEDX style.

I took so much time choosing the speakers. I looked at the websites, read reviews, checked out their content, did everything I can do assure myself that these people had chops. None of them had a big social media following. One wasn’t even on social media.

It made selling tickets harder. A lot harder. I was sharing this with Sam who said “you need to book people with a following— that’s how you spread the word”.

But I hated this. Hated. Because building a social media following is an independent skillset. It’s not tied to any other ability, and I couldn’t stand making it a criterion.

Sam was not wrong. I was not wrong, either. We just had two different strategies. His was more efficient and less work. Mine was more arduous, but it was important to me. (There’s a leadership lesson here as well: I was not forced to do it Sam’s way. Pleasing stakeholders can be a major hindrance).

So I would be remiss if I didn’t say that for those of us who care to start steering this boat in another direction, the wind will not be at our back, but we will land on better territory.

Onward,

April

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