You trust the “Experts,” but how do you know they are the best?

Read “Who You Learn From Matters”

A word of encouragement today to let you know that who you learn from matters.
When I first started rock climbing a number of years ago, I went to my local YMCA and got connected up with a climbing group. I learned from an experienced teacher. At the time, having not rock climbed in the past, I would not have known if that individual knew what they were talking about or not. In fact, until I had begun climbing outdoors on my own, I took a lot of the things that he said for granted.

Till I began to read and discover things of my own, I didn’t realize that “he actually knows his stuff.” I remember that sometimes when we would go rock climbing, we would look at the anchor setups at the top. Now, the anchor setups are the elements at the top that hold the rope safely in place so that the person can climb and have a great day.

We would look at people’s anchors and he would systematically tell me what was wrong with people’s anchors and why they were climbing in a potentially unsafe manner. But why didn’t those people know that they were unsafe?

It’s who they learned from. The person they learned from didn’t know.

Sometimes we call that an expert bias. The person seems like an expert simply because they know more than us. So, how can we tell whether a person knows what they’re talking about or not?

I use an example from interviewing and hiring people. One of my favorite questions to ask people in an interview is “do you have any questions” or “what questions do you have for me?” When they stare blindly at their paper, then look at me and answer, “I’m pretty set – I think I have what I need”, I realize that they don’t have any experience.

They don’t know the questions to ask because they’ve never done the work before. And that’s okay… but not always. Sometimes you need to know that the person you are learning from actually knows their stuff.

I encourage you to look at the questions people ask. The better questions they ask, the more experience they have. The more questions they ask, the more experience they have. And sometimes, as in rock climbing, it really matters.

Something to keep in mind. Have a great day.