How do we distinguish a manager from an expert? What are their respective roles?

The word expert in English is imported from French, which in turn derives from the Latin “expertus”. Yet from an historical perspective, we can go further back, to Plato , who distinguished three types of people: the senseless ones (who think they have wisdom but lack it), the philosophers (who seek wisdom) and the sages (who already have the wisdom). Indeed, Plato was very elitist and relied on only a few wise people to run the affairs of the city. It seems, however, that Plato did not really distinguish between managers and experts, thinking perhaps that someone imbued with lofty ideals and knowledge would be the best manager of the affairs of men.

The world we live in today differs enormously from Plato’s Greece. Even in the seventeenth century, a European philosopher could pretend to understand all the fields of knowledge. As our understanding of the world around us expands, our capacity to make sense of it decreases while scientists are becoming increasingly specialized. But let’s keep our attention focused on the workplace: Can experts make good managers, or should managers be experts specialized in management? Should we require an MBA for all managers, or are there other paths to good management? As to the experts themselves, how do they achieve such a status, and what role do they play in the workplace?

What is an expert?

It would be foolhardy to propose a definitive definition of what an expert is. The Oxford Dictionaries, cited above, give a short definition: “A person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area”.  Interestingly, the definition goes on to propose a good number of synonyms:

"specialist, authority, pundit, oracle; adept, maestro, virtuoso, master, past paster, professional genius, wizard; connoisseur, aficionado, one of the cognoscenti, cognoscente, doyen, savant

informal • ace, buff, pro, whizz, hotshot, old hand, alpha geek

British informal • dab hand

North American informal • maven, crackerjack

rare • proficient"

The very first synonym is specialist, which may be an odd choice. There are, of course, cases where the two words are interchangeable. However, the terms expert and expertise have an additional connotation, that of quality. A specialist would be someone who concentrates his or her work on a specific aspect within his or her trade or profession, but may or may not be an expert. Indeed, a specialist can be a novice, quite the opposite of an expert.

So, the expert is a person who is very knowledgeable, and/or skilful, in a particular field. If the specialist can be expected to find the solution to a problem, the expert is understood to know the answers – somewhat akin to Plato distinguishing philosophers (who seek knowledge) and sages (who have it).

The question, therefore, is how does one’s status pass from that of specialist, to that of expert? There does not seem to be anything concrete, however, this "passage" seems to come through recognition. This recognition may have different sources. In some cases, an academic may be recognized for his or her expertise through obtaining a doctorate. More common would be the gradual building up of a reputation, amongst peers or a wider public. Morning radio shows, for example, regularly call upon experts for interviews. For the listening public,  the fact that these experts can effortlessly answer questions, recall relevant facts and figures, and express firm opinions is a confirmation that they are, indeed, experts.

We conclude that the quality of expert has two components: a) that of skill, competence or knowledge in a given field, and b) the recognition of this expertise by others. In other words, reverting to the Latin origin, experts are people who have been tried and tested (in Latin, expertus is the past participle of the verb 'to try').

Authority

If one were to make a rule of thumb on the difference between the functions of manager and expert, it would be that the manager is the ultimate decision-maker, taking decisions based on factors that will hail from different fields of expertise and be based on a wider set of criteria that the narrow focus the expert or specialist might have. To take an example from recruitment: the expert who needs an assistant may opt for the most competent person in the relevant field, whereas the manager may decide to choose someone who has a wider set of people skills.

This example might therefore lead one to conclude that the manager has more power than the expert, which would be a mistake. Both functions have elements of decision-making. For example, recently someone explained the relationship of the expert and the manager with the following story: “As a manager, I have to convince the Board that my decisions are the right ones. If I simply present my ideas, they will be endlessly discussed, probably emptied of their meaning, and ultimately rejected. So when I have an important decision to make, I hire a consultant, who will write a paper which maps our course of action, and justifies it. I share this paper with the Board, which will invariably accept the word of the expert and impose the decision on me.”

This simple and somewhat amusing story is used here to illustrate the mutually-reinforcing roles each have. Being a manager is not a question of power, it is a question of leadership. It is a question of being able to take the best possible decisions based on the best possible advice. The manager will only obtain the best possible advice if he or she can effectively recognize expertise. This, in turn, could develop into a mutually-beneficial relationship. The expert, as we have seen, also requires recognition. The expert will only be able to function if the manager provides the right space and the right incentives.

Both managers and experts have authority. Managers have the authority to take decisions of wider import than a specific field of activity. Experts are authorities by virtue of the knowledge and skills they are deemed to hold. Experts and managers both, therefore, can be seen as holding positions wherein experience and the capacity to make choices are valued skills. Both types of position are actually of equal value. Saint Symeon-the-Stylite, who lived around the 5th century A.D., spent forty years atop a column. He was hardly a manager, yet his word was accepted and sought after by thousands of pilgrims who flocked to him, even decades after his death.

Communication and networking: a common need

We have seen that knowledge and recognition are the key ingredients of expertise.  Should then the expert be a good communicator? We can of course imagine the proverbial mad scientist or the mythical guru sitting on the top of the mountain, immune to the world around them. Nevertheless, to be recognized as an expert means communicating, as we have seen with the example of Symeon.  A recent example illustrating this concerns Professor Peter Higgs, who was recently awarded a Nobel Prize for his pivotal role in understanding and describing the eponymous Boson. If today he is indeed recognized, this recognition was delayed by several decades because he was – according to what he claims in a BBC interview  – not communicating with his peers.

Similarly, the manager needs to be able to listen to those around, and to communicate the relevance of decisions. The manager needs to be able to tap into a large network, to integrate his or her decisions in a larger framework. In other words, communication and networking skills are common needs for experts and for managers, and should be nurtured by any professional seeking promotion and advancement.

Which path to choose?

How and when does one choose one or the other path? Many people, in their early career, will not knowingly make a choice. In today’s world, many of us would simply be happy just to have a job. However, as the years pass and as we gain experience, we will also want to optimize job satisfaction. At the same time, we might be pushed to take decisions as to whether we tend more towards expertise or towards management.

Both paths contain elements of risk. There is no easy way, since both of these careers will prove to be demanding and contain many pitfalls. It is certain, however, that we should not, indeed we cannot, make a value judgment.  Neither path is less valid than the other. The choice, then, will be based on affinities and on capacities. Does one have the capacity to become a good manager? Does one have the capacity to become an expert? How does one want to take on authority? 

A career can seem very long, but decisions become more and more restricted as time goes on. Someone starting his or her career will very quickly realize where he or she is making an impact. As good communicators, these individuals must be tuned in to the reactions of their peers and of management, and should be able to ensure that their own chosen career options are understood by human resources. They should also be able to draw lessons from mistakes. If “An expert is a person who has found out by his own painful experience all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow field.” (Niels Bohr) , we can possibly add that a manager is a person who has made all the mistakes which can be made in the largest possible field.

What we really need to know

The previous section addresses “which path to choose”, yet our conclusion is not so much related to “which”, and more to “how”. In order to make the best possible decision, we need to know ourselves. We need to understand in which capacity we can give the best of ourselves, in which capacity we can maximize our job satisfaction. Most of us can probably excel in both career paths, and many of us might even embrace both at different times. But in today’s highly competitive environment, mistakes, if not dealt with properly, can be costly. Our conclusion, then, is that we should all strive for excellence. We should be clear about our career choices, and we should respect managers and experts as having equal worth. We should also add that stepping on other people’s toes, paradoxically, will not help us: mutual respect, solidarity and collaboration, are the keys to success.

Finally, let us abolish Plato’s category of senseless people. We all have a certain amount of senselessness about us, and we all also have the capacity to think, to seek, and to show expertise. Developing these capacities is how we become good managers and experts.

Additional resources:

In English:

http://www.acec.ca/assets/pdf/events/summit/2012/ACEC_ManagerorExpert.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140314-first-time-manager-blunders

http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2849/

http://www.effective-management.co.za/en/organizational_development/from_expert_to_manager_to_leader

En français:

http://www.id-carrieres.com/blog/2011/07/15/projet-professionnel-manager-ou-expert-2/

http://www.lefigaro.fr/emploi/2008/02/04/01010-20080204ARTFIG00348-expertou-manageril-faut-choisir.php

http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/74/29/80/PDF/Pochic_Manager_Expert_TEQ.pdf

http://www.jechercheunmeilleurjob.fr/index.php?id=188

http://www.kolibricoaching.com/management-durable/management-position-basse/

http://top-partnergroup.blogspot.ch/2007/11/surtout-ne-pas-confondre-consultant.html

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