How to Show Your Expertise on the Job

In my first blog this month, I described the six essentials for building your career success. After Experience Doing and Risk Linking, Exhibiting Mastery is an important skill for demonstrating that you have a specific talent or strength of service to the organization. This establishes your reputation as a valuable contributor.  Basically, you want to show your stuff in a way that others want to tap you for.

When I started my career, I wanted to be known for a strength I could be tapped for – something that others would want. Since I was new and hadn’t yet built the reputation for having expertise in my role, I let others know that I enjoyed planning and facilitating meetings. This meant I didn’t have to know the topic - just how to help the leader of the meeting design and manage the meeting flow for success. This strength could be applied in a variety of areas. Others began to consult me on all sorts of meetings – outside of my function. Word got out that this was my strength, and it opened all sorts of doors for me and gave me exposure to different areas of the company. I became even better at this strength as I practiced it – increasing my confidence!

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

Here are three tips for showing others what you have to offer:

Know your strengths. The starting point has to be your understanding of what the company needs and values and what you can reliably offer. This can be any expertise, from working with a particular technical tool to a personal aptitude such as meeting facilitation, organizing, editing, grant or proposal writing.

Communicate and demonstrate your strengths to others. You want others to buzz about what a great job you do – something that you excel in and the outcome it produces for them.  Ask your trusted colleagues to speak about their experience with you - promote the buzz.

Share your knowledge. Offer to teach others to do what you’ve learned. Answer their questions and give your opinions. Your generosity will earn you some status as a “thought leader” that will benefit your reputation in a very positive way. While professional social networks can be an effective means of sharing your knowledge with various on-line communities, since the nature of the networks means that interesting and helpful insights are often passed on to other contacts, you want to build your reputation within your workplace – and social media may cast too wide a net. A word of caution – avoid becoming pedantic, i.e., seeming arrogant or talking just to hear yourself.

–Andrea Zintz, PhD
Career Coach
President, Strategic Leadership Resources LLC
www.strategicleadershipresources.com