Expert power, one of six key types of power, allows leaders to shape decisions and influence outcomes through specialized knowledge. This makes expert power as influential as formal authority. It's a subtle but potent way to increase your power, regardless of your position on the org chart. In this article, I examine the intricacies of expert power and how to build it proactively.
When Francis Bacon declared 'knowledge is power' in 1597, he couldn't have imagined how prophetic those words would be in the 21st-century workplace.
Imagine walking into a high-stakes meeting. The CEO is there, along with several VPs. But when a critical question arises, all eyes turn to Sarah, a mid-level engineer. Why? Because in that moment, her expert power outweighs everyone else's formal authority.
As organizations become more tech-heavy and less hierarchical, expert power plays a central role. Individuals at all levels can harness their knowledge to influence outcomes, democratizing leadership.
In general, the faster the change in the know-how on which a business depends, the greater the divergence between knowledge and position power is likely to be. Since our business depends on what it knows to survive, we mix ‘knowledge-power people’ with ‘position-power people’ daily, so that together they make the decisions that will affect us for years to come.
— Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel
But this increasing reliance on expertise in modern organizations presents both opportunities and challenges. While specialized knowledge is more valued than ever, the proliferation of experts can dilute influence.
In this landscape, those who can systematically build and leverage their expert power stand out. By proactively developing and applying your expertise, you can transform knowledge into a key differentiator and a source of power.
What is expert power
In today's workplace, influencing others without formal authority is a critical skill. Expert power, derived from specialized knowledge or skills, is a powerful way to increase such influence.
Expert power arises from recognized expertise in a particular area, unlike positional authority that comes from formal titles. This form of power emerges when others value that expertise, seeking advice, guidance, or decisions from that individual. In a knowledge-driven workplace, information is a valuable currency, allowing those with unique insights to wield significant influence regardless of their position on the org chart.
It allows leaders to guide decisions and shape strategies based on their knowledge, flattening organizational hierarchies and democratizing decision-making. This is particularly evident in cross-functional teams, where expertise transcends formal hierarchies.
The power of expertise grows when a person or group holds exclusive knowledge, especially about handling uncertainty. In professional organizations, it often holds more sway than hierarchical authority, leading to decentralized structures with distributed expertise.
When facing complex problems, teams defer to those with specialized knowledge. This deference is amplified by social proof, where people look to others for cues on how to behave in uncertain situations. As more people trust and rely on an expert's judgment, others are likely to follow. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where the expert's influence grows, allowing them to guide group decisions without formal authority, based on the trust in their judgment.
To illustrate how expert power operates in different contexts:
- In tech companies, engineers often significantly influence product development and corporate strategy through their technical expertise, especially on cutting-edge projects aligned with company goals.
- Legal advisors in regulated industries shape corporate strategy through their in-depth understanding of regulations, despite lacking formal authority. Executives rely on legal teams for high-stakes decisions, making credibility and trust essential.
From a leadership perspective, expert power is a form of social capital. The more relevant your expertise is to the company's goals, the more likely you are to be considered for future roles. This allows individuals to trade knowledge for influence and career advancement, creating a pathway to leadership that doesn't rely solely on traditional hierarchical progression.
Components of expert power
Expert power isn’t just about knowledge. It’s about how you apply it, how others perceive and trust you, and how you navigate organizational dynamics. Let’s look at its key components.
1. Specialized knowledge
Expert power comes from deep, specialized knowledge that isn’t widely shared. Unlike general knowledge, this is highly specific and niche expertise that addresses organizational challenges.
Knowing a lot about a broad topic isn’t enough. Power comes from becoming the go-to expert in a critical subfield. Specialization narrows your focus and intensifies your power within that domain.
2. Relevance of expertise
Expert power is contextual—even highly specialized knowledge must be relevant to the organization’s strategic needs. Expertise that is not aligned with organizational priorities becomes redundant.
Staying relevant isn’t just about staying current in your field—it’s about anticipating organizational shifts and evolving your expertise to meet those needs. Align your expertise with upcoming challenges, like new regulatory changes or technological advancements, to enhance your influence.
Expert power can lead to being typecast as a specialist, risking obsolescence, as new niches may arise where novices can claim power.
3. Credibility
Credibility is earned through consistent results and reliability. Your power depends on how well you translate your specialized knowledge into measurable outcomes.
Build credibility by delivering clear value through your expertise. Track and communicate the impact of your recommendations. This solidifies your position as not just knowledgeable, but actionably valuable.
To maintain trust, be clear about the boundaries of your expertise. Saying “I don’t know, but I can find out” is more powerful than offering an uninformed guess.
4. Problem-solving ability
Expert power isn’t just about knowledge; it’s about using it to solve complex problems that others can’t.
This sounds obvious, but being an expert doesn’t automatically mean knowing how to translate knowledge into solutions. Problem-solving ability refers to your capacity to diagnose the right issues, create workable strategies, and implement solutions that are practical, efficient, and aligned with broader objectives.
It’s easy to go from an expert to a cynic who knows why something won’t work but can’t find a solution. When expertise is turned into practical, effective solutions, your value increases significantly.
5. Track record
Expert power comes from your track record—the consistent, measurable success of your past decisions and solutions. A proven track record provides evidence to convince others to trust your judgment in future decisions.
This isn’t just about successful projects —it’s how you frame those successes. Ensure your track record aligns with strategic priorities, positioning yourself as someone whose expertise advances company goals.
Keep a record of your achievements and outcomes. When proposing new ideas, reference past successes that demonstrate your ability to solve similar problems.
Pitfalls of Expert Power
While effective, expert power comes with its own set of challenges. Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for leveraging expertise in leadership roles.
Interpersonal Challenges
The soft skills gap
Experts often underestimate the importance of soft skills, assuming "knowing" is enough to influence. However, the most influential individuals blend knowledge with excellent interpersonal skills to connect with and persuade diverse audiences.
Trust and credibility
Expert power isn't just about knowledge; it's about being perceived as having valuable knowledge. Trust-building is nuanced and doesn't always align with an individual's technical capabilities alone. Experts must actively build and maintain trust through communication, humility, and transparency.
Organizational dynamics
Some managers feel threatened by influential experts without formal authority. Others resist or challenge expert power due to jealousy, fear of change, or feeling undervalued. This can lead to internal conflicts and reduce the effectiveness of the expert's influence.
Contextual challenges
Relevance in a changing environment
Expert power is context-dependent and relative. Expertise in one area or at one point in time doesn't always transfer to other domains or situations. As organizational needs shift, experts must adapt to maintain their influence.
The collaboration paradox
Expert power can drive innovation, but it can also hinder it. Experts may create silos by hoarding knowledge to maintain their power, impeding collaboration and sharing. Conversely, true influence comes from being a "knowledge broker" who facilitates information exchange between people and departments.
The half-life of expertise
In fast-changing environments, knowledge quickly becomes outdated. Expert power relies on your ability to continually learn, adapt, and stay relevant. Failure to do so can rapidly diminish one's influence, even after years of credibility.
Personal Challenges
The overconfidence trap
A common pitfall for leaders with expert power is overconfidence. Experts can become so reliant on their knowledge that they ignore input from others, leading to blind spots. They struggle to explain concepts simply, hindering their influence.
Vulnerability and uncertainty
There's an assumption that experts should be infallible and fully confident. This makes it difficult to express uncertainty or seek feedback without fearing loss of credibility. In reality, they exert more influence when they display vulnerability and acknowledge the limits of their knowledge.
Balancing depth and breadth
Experts must maintain deep knowledge in their field while developing a broad understanding of related fields. This balance is crucial for remaining relevant and avoiding the "expert's dilemma" of resisting new ideas that challenge established paradigms.
By understanding these challenges, leaders can navigate the complexities of expert power, enhancing their influence and avoiding pitfalls.
Expert power as a foundation
A common mistake I've seen is people getting hung up on their lack of a fancy title or corner office, aka positional power. They don't realize how much influence they can wield just by being really good at what they do. Your expert power is a versatile tool – it can open all sorts of doors.
- Organizations value and promote individuals with critical knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Expertise accelerates career progression, leading to formal authority or legitimate power. Once in leadership roles, they gain the authority to make decisions, allocate resources, and shape policies.
- Expert power enhances referent power, based on admiration and respect. People gravitate toward and identify with those who exhibit mastery. Combining expertise with strong interpersonal skills allows leaders to increase their influence through personal appeal.
- Expertise leads to involvement in key projects and strategic partnerships, giving experts access to valuable resources and networks, bolstering their reward power—the ability to offer incentives. Leaders can use these assets to reward team members, fostering loyalty and motivation.
- Experts have access to cutting-edge developments and confidential insights, leading to informational power — controlling the flow and access to critical information. Strategically sharing or withholding information shapes organizational decisions.
- While not directly associated with coercion, expert power impacts coercive power—the ability to enforce compliance. Experts design systems, set standards, or define best practices that others must follow. By establishing benchmarks and protocols, they set the criteria for performance and consequences.
- Innovative ideas and insights captivate and inspire teams. In this way, expertise contributes to charismatic power, where influence stems from perceived extraordinary qualities.
How to build expert power
Building and leveraging power based on expertise goes beyond accumulating knowledge. It involves continuous learning, effective communication, and strategic thinking. Here are pointers for increasing it systematically:
1. Curate and update
Commit to a schedule for updating your expertise. For example, every quarter, audit your field for emerging research, technologies, or methodologies. Subscribe to specialized journals, attend industry conferences, or participate in advanced training.
Develop expertise in high-value, high-impact areas that are strategically important but underserved in your organization or field. The rise of complex problems requires interdisciplinary expertise. People who can bridge multiple domains possess a unique form of expert power that is increasingly valuable.
2. Build trust
Because expert power is context-specific, people trust your judgment on one topic but are skeptical of your views in another area. Therefore, building targeted trust in key, relevant areas of expertise is critical.
Choose one or two niche areas and demonstrate authority in them. Publish focused articles or case studies, give talks, or lead initiatives that showcase your depth. Make your reputation synonymous with particular areas of expertise.
3. Shape protocols
Expert power is solidified when you help create the rules or frameworks others must follow. It’s not just about solving problems but institutionalizing your knowledge into company standards.
Propose and draft frameworks and best practices based on your expertise for organizational use. If you’re a project management expert, develop a standard project initiation template for all teams. Once your expertise shapes standard processes, your influence becomes a part of daily operations.
Embedding your expertise creates dependency. People will reference and follow your frameworks, enhancing your power without formal authority.
4. Ship “artifacts”
Publishing insights that address organizational or industry-wide challenges extends your expert power beyond immediate teams and departments. It showcases your expertise — you’re creating tangible artifacts of your thinking.
Internal publications boost your power within the organization, influencing decision-making and policy. External publications showcase your expertise across the industry, leading to cross-industry recognition and strengthening your power.
5. Influence decision-makers
Experts gain disproportionate influence when they provide insight during high-stakes decisions where the cost of being wrong is high. The ability to deliver clarity and strategic guidance in moments of uncertainty significantly increases expert power.
Expert power is impactful when it reduces uncertainty during critical times. Be the voice of clarity during organizational crises or strategic decision-making. By transforming ambiguity into clarity, you reinforce your status as the go-to expert. The more you influence high-impact situations, the more your advice becomes indispensable.
6. Utilize informal networks
Informal networks within an organization often carry more influence than formal org charts. Expert power increases when it flows through informal relationships, instead of being confined to direct reports or assigned teams.
Build informal alliances with key stakeholders, influencers, and decision-makers across departments. Offer your expertise in advisory roles or informal consultations where no official hierarchy exists.
Expert power doesn’t need formal channels to grow. You can subtly shape decisions and initiatives. By becoming an unofficial advisor, you expand your influence across the organization.
7. Teach the next generation
A powerful way to increase expert power is to help create more experts. By teaching and mentoring others, you demonstrate mastery and ensure your influence outlasts direct involvement.
Lead specialized training sessions or workshops. By passing down knowledge, you create a knowledge ecosystem where people attribute their skills to you, extending your expert power.
Building expert power requires intentional, proactive actions beyond simply being knowledgeable. It’s about positioning yourself as a strategic asset. Using these strategies, you can cultivate expert power that positions you as a trusted authority and strategic thought partner.
Sources
- French, J. R. P., & Raven, B. (1959). "The bases of social power."
- Raven, B. H. (1992). "A power/interaction model of interpersonal influence: French and Raven thirty years later."
- Pfeffer, J. (1992). Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations.
- Dutton, J. E., & Ashford, S. J. (1993). "Selling issues to top management."
- Finkelstein, S. (1992). "Power in top management teams: Dimensions, measurement, and validation."
- Edmondson, A. C. (1999). "Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams."
- Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization.