Page 48 - FCW, August 2021

Management
Your expertise
and experience not only give you credibility, they also give you a perspective to assess and support those who work for you.
that are considered most valuable. How do you know that you have met your objective — that you are an expert in a given subject? Here are four ques-
tions to ask yourself:
1. Are you frequently asked for the use of your expertise in a sub- ject? Being asked is an external valida- tion of your knowledge and practical use of your expertise by co-workers and others in the industry.
2. Do you personally know some of the individuals considered to be world-class in your subject? Experts in a subject get to know and communi- cate with each other. They trade ideas and work together to advance the state of a particular subject. Are you part of this group in your subject area? Do you know who these world-class experts are? Do they know and respect you? Are you adding value as you interact with these other experts?
3. Have you published an article or made public presentations relat- ed to your subject? Beyond custom- er-oriented project work, are you pub- lished or have you made presentations at conferences related to your subject? These are validations of how others view you in your field.
4. Have you contributed content to enhance the state of the art in your subject? Such contributions can vary significantly, but examples can include publishing code on “open source” projects, supporting the devel- opment of standards or serving on a committee to document best practices in your subject.
It is not a given that you must answer yes to all four questions posed above to think of yourself as an expert. But you can use them as yardsticks to deter- mine whether you are recognized as an expert inside as well as outside your organization.
You may be thinking, especially if you are new in your career, that achieving expert status in five years is unrealis- tic. You think you are too new, with too much to learn. I understand and
can empathize because that is how I felt when first entering work after earning my undergraduate degree. But with technology evolving so rap- idly, five years is a relatively long time in our business. With the right focused effort, you can develop your KSAs and address your behaviors to meet such an objective in five years. It will require dedication well beyond a typical 9-to-5 job, but it is possible.
The career benefits
Why is it so important to earn the title of expert, particularly in early to mid- career? It provides you a platform to build upon in three beneficial ways:
• Developing expertise recog- nized outside of your organiza- tion increases your value in the employer’s eyes. In the near term, your value rises, which is then typically reflected in the opportunities you have within your organization (and in your compensation).
• Your expertise supports devel- oping your professional network. As your reputation is enhanced, it becomes easier to build your network and get introductions to others, both those who work directly in the subject you currently focus on and those who work in related subject areas. This can dramatically help you increase the size and value of your professional network.
• Finally, developing such exper- tise provides you with perspective. Once you make an effort to become an
expert in a given subject, you under- stand the effort and the dedication it takes. If you plan, given your career goals, to move into management and hope to become an executive someday, having this perspective is quite valu- able. Once in management, you will not be an expert in many of the subject areas you will oversee. Still, you will be able to better identify experts in other subjects and support those who are developing expertise. Your expertise and experience not only give you cred- ibility, they also give you a perspective to assess and support those who work for you.
Technologies and process disciplines are continually evolving. If you begin to manage others and lead organizations, it is possible (even likely) that you will not stay current in your chosen subject. That is okay and expected. But it in no way diminishes the value of having developed expertise in a subject ear- lier in your career. The benefits outlined above will endure and positively impact your career long after the expertise you acquired early in your career is no lon- ger of value. n
Richard A. Spires has spent more than three decades in the technology field. He served as CIO at the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security and as CEO of Learning Tree Internation- al. Spires is a three-time Federal 100 award winner and won the govern- ment Eagle award in 2013.
46 August 2021 FCW.COM