The top article first appeared in Forbes, March 9, 2012, written by Josh Bersin. The bottom article first appeared in Forbes, March 28, 2017, written by Jenn Lofgren.
Inside my head, an idea has been bouncing around for the past couple of weeks, professionals vs. experts. This thought experiment has generated such mental gymnastics for the GATCT team that this subject matter, in one form or another, will be featured in an upcoming article. In the meantime, the Greater Applications co-creator, Justin Witty unearthed these two articles. One magazine, two separate pieces, two opposing points of view. The first article certainly has a specific organizational demographic in mind while the second is more of for the generalists.
Nevertheless, this should not detract from the quagmire that sits before us. Leader and expert or leader vs. expert? Does the combination matter, if so what is the right formula, if not then why do most organizations spend so much time defining, describing or explaining themselves as one, the other, or both? Leader and expert are not synonymous terms, yet one argument suggests that both topics are required for success while another indicates the separation of the two ideas. As much as the phrase "it depends" would be straightforward, this problem set deserves much greater application. Good news, both articles are short and get right to the point so digesting both ideas and beginning your own thought dissection will be easy. We would like to hear from each of you so please, leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Enjoy!
