April 2006
Question
Expert. Just exactly what does that mean? I call myself an expert in my professional area. With all the hype in the media about ethics I am wondering if I should stop that practice. How do I determine whether I am actually an expert? I think I am. My clients call on me to solve problems in my perceived area of expertise. How can I tell if I am an expert?
Answer
What a great question! Who defines your expertness? The National Speakers Association (NSA) has written a white paper entitled “The Expertise Imperative.” The paper is free at the NSA Web site at www.nsaspeaker.org. It concludes that expertise isn’t just about what you know, but it is also about what you do. The research categorized six levels of expertise. Ranked from lowest to highest they are:
- A perceived authority
- An educator and interpreter
- A contributor in the field
- Someone sought after by others
- A counsel and mentor
- Someone with longevity or consistency
So what do experts do? They write books. They write articles for magazines and journals. They appear as expert witnesses. They serve as mentors and coaches. They conduct workshops, speak at conferences, serve on panels, and teach classes. They hold trademarks, patents and copyrights. And they are paid for their expertise—just like you are as a consultant.
Question
It has been several years since I have done consulting but I am ready to pick it up again. I am a US citizen; however, I am living outside the US. This makes it a challenge to re-establish and maintain contacts and find work that can be done 100% telecommuting. What is my best approach? Are there 'headhunting' organizations that can help international telecommuters?
Answer
Wouldn't it be nice to be a consultant if all you needed to do was to go to a headhunter to find work? I know of no such agency. However, are you aware that ASTD has a job posting site (Job Bank)? You may wish to begin there. It would be difficult to find work in your home country that allowed you to stay at home full time. It is a hundredfold more difficult to locate work on the other side of the world that allows you to work from home. The only advice I can offer is for you to begin to tap into your network immediately.
