The Expert

On a call recently I was in a small group speaking about authenticity. What does authenticity mean to us, how would be describe it and where and how do we experience it.

And I was ready for a lively debate, until the first speaker made a statement with his definition of authenticity and backed it up with the statement, "this is a favorite subject of mine that I researched when I did my masters." and promptly closed the conversation down by assuming the mantle of the expert and not even listening to other points of view.

It was disappointing to say the least.

And that situation became a cautionary tale for me, reminding me that expertise can blinker us just as swiftly as ignorance. In my series on listening one of the people I spoke with told me "when I think I know best, the most or what the other person is about today, that's when I listen the hardest to make sure I don't miss something my assumptions might blind me to".