Expertise Through Practice

Louder for the people at the back 🎤 Many organisations today seem to have shifted from being institutions that develop great talent to those that primarily seek ready-made talent. This trend overlooks the immense value of individuals who, despite lacking experience, possess a great attitude, commitment, and a team-oriented mindset. These qualities often outweigh the drawbacks of hiring experienced individuals with a fixed and toxic mindset. The best organisations attract talent with their best years ahead of them, focusing on potential rather than past achievements. Let’s be clear this is more about mindset and willingness to learn and unlearn as apposed to age. To realise the incredible potential return, organisations must commit to creating an environment where continuous development is possible. This requires a multi-faceted approach: 1. Robust Training Programmes: Employers should invest in comprehensive training programmes that equip employees with the necessary skills for their roles. This includes on-the-job training, mentorship programmes, online courses, and workshops. 2. Redefining Hiring Criteria: Organisations should revise their hiring criteria to focus more on candidates’ potential and willingness to learn rather than solely on prior experience or formal qualifications. Behavioural interviews, aptitude tests, and probationary periods can help assess a candidate's ability to learn and adapt. 3. Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Companies can collaborate with educational institutions to design curricula that align with industry needs. Apprenticeship programmes, internships, and cooperative education can bridge the gap between academic learning and practical job skills. 4. Lifelong Learning Culture: Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning within organisations is crucial. Employers should provide ongoing education opportunities and support for professional development. This includes continuous skills assessment and access to resources for upskilling and reskilling. 5. Inclusive Recruitment Practices: Employers should implement inclusive recruitment practices that remove biases and barriers. Blind recruitment, diversity quotas, and targeted outreach programmes can help ensure that diverse candidates are given a fair chance. By implementing these measures, organisations can develop a workforce that is adaptable, innovative, and resilient, ensuring sustainable success and growth.

Your next 1-on-1 is either building trust or breaking it. Most managers treat them like status updates. Most employees see them as obligations. After years of leading teams through growth and crisis, I've learned the truth: The best 1-on-1s aren't meetings. They're investments in human potential. When done right, these 30 minutes can transform: • Disengaged employees into champions • Surface problems become solutions • Good performers into great leaders Here's how to make every 1-on-1 count: For Managers: 1/ Start human, not tactical "What's on your mind?" beats "What's your update?" every time. Let them drive the agenda first. 2/ Listen like your success depends on it Because it does. Their challenges are your early warning system. Their wins are your team's momentum. 3/ Ask the question that matters "What support do you need?" Then actually provide it. Trust compounds when promises are kept. For Employees: 1/ Come with intention This is your time. Own it. Bring your real challenges, not just safe updates. 2/ Share what's actually blocking you Your manager can't fix what they can't see. But come with potential solutions too. It shows you're thinking, not just venting. 3/ Talk about tomorrow, not just today Where do you want to grow? What skills are you building? Make your development their priority. Great 1-on-1s don't just review work. They build relationships. They surface insights. They prevent fires instead of fighting them. The game-changer most miss: End every 1-on-1 with absolute clarity: 📌 What are the next steps? 📌 Who owns what? 📌 When will we check progress? Vague endings create frustrated teams. Your people don't need another meeting. They need a moment where someone truly sees them, hears them, and helps them win. Give them that, and watch what happens. What's one thing that transformed your 1-on-1s? ♻️ Repost if this changes how you approach 1-on-1s Follow Desiree Gruber for more insights on storytelling, leadership, and brand building.

One thing I have learned in venture investing is that expertise compounds faster than capital. If you want to succeed as a venture capitalist, you need to own a niche. Not observe it. Own it. Know every startup. Know the operators who are shaping the category. Know the incumbents who influence the market. Know the shifts before they become trends. When the best founders in that space start thinking about whom to work with, your name should arrive in their mind before the list even begins. That level of relevance does not come from broad investing. It comes from depth. It comes from showing up in a space long enough for people to trust that you understand it. #investing #mindset #impact #success

Brian Chesky's advice might be right for some CEOs. But here's why it's wrong for managers: Please don't give up your 1-on-1 meetings. They're your highest ROI meetings if you do them right. Unfortunately, most people have a crap map for 1:1s: 🚩They tend to be status updates 🚩They tend to be led top-down 🚩They tend to be canceled If you put garbage in, you should expect garbage out. Instead... ✅ Move status updates to a dashboard ✅ Move ownership to the employee ✅ Move the meeting rarely Now let's refine this meeting by the level of manager. 1️⃣ Front-line or First-time Managers - 60% fail this transition - Expect them to need coaching - Don't burden them with finding ad hoc time 💡Tip: Use the meeting to teach them to optimize their operations. 2️⃣ Managers of Managers - They move from overseeing the work to overseeing managers - Hiring, firing, and development become the focus - Do they lead people or manage work? 💡Tip: Use the meeting to show them how to lead others. 3️⃣ Functional Leadership - Their system is getting increasingly abstract - Their focus is getting increasingly strategic - How far do you want to let them drift? 💡Tip: Use the meeting to offer context and coaching. 4️⃣ Executive Leadership - This is who Chesky is talking about overseeing - They should be able to act as CEO of their area - Most of their work is collaborative and long-term 💡Tip: Use the meeting like a board advises a CEO. Don't bail on your 1-on-1's because it works for a famous CEO. Learn from his thinking to build the system that helps you win. If you found this helpful, please ♻️ repost and follow Dave Kline for more.

Management consulting partners: don’t be a grey suit on LinkedIn. Personality and authenticity are your key to engaging conversations. How many of you find it hard to express yourselves authentically on LinkedIn? Judging by a quick sampling of profiles, it seems to be the majority. We thrive on the impact our work creates, and we don’t shy away from confidently stating our recommendations to clients. But when it comes to LinkedIn, most of us are either inactive or find comfort in re-sharing standardized impersonal posts. Yet the data suggests the opposite behaviour is what’s needed: Trust is personal. 74% of people are more likely to trust someone with a strong personal brand. Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a differentiator. People share people, not brands. Employee posts get 5x more reach and 24x more re-shares than company posts.  That’s engagement driven by personal connection. The C-suite is leading by example. C-suite posts get 4x more engagement than average content. Why? Because people want to hear your view, not just your firm’s boilerplate update. Being authentic isn’t just good for your personal brand, it’s good for business. So, instead of posting another dry statement with the charm of a bowling ball, try this: Inject personality into professionalism. Credibility is key, but so is not sounding like a corporate bot. Relatable anecdotes or lessons learned make your content memorable. Showcase expertise through insights. Share thoughtful perspectives on your industry, backed by data or personal experience. Engage meaningfully with your network. Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and recognize others’ contributions. We are a people business, built on trust and relationships. Make sure your LinkedIn presence is as impactful as your boardroom advice. What’s one thing you’d change about your LinkedIn posts based on this approach? #Consulting #Authenticity #Connection

Many of my coaching clients are uncomfortable with self-promotion, even though it's essential to building the visibility needed to power their career success. If this rings true for you as well, take heart. There are meaningful ways to showcase your contributions and build your professional presence without feeling like you're bragging. Here are a few strategies to consider: 🎊 1. Share Your Wins Collaboratively Instead of focusing solely on your achievements, highlight how your team’s efforts contributed to success. For example, in a meeting, you might say, “Our team’s collaboration on [Project Name] really made an impact. I’m particularly proud of how we addressed [specific challenge].” This shows leadership and gives credit to others. 👀 2. Volunteer for High-Visibility Projects Offer to take on tasks or projects that involve cross-functional teams or public presentations. This puts your work in front of a broader audience and establishes your expertise without explicitly “tooting your own horn.” 💡 3. Ask Thoughtful Questions Speaking up in meetings doesn’t always mean sharing your own ideas. Asking insightful questions about ongoing initiatives shows you’re engaged, strategic, and invested in the organization’s goals. 📈 4. Document and Share Results Create concise updates on your projects to share with your manager or team. For example, you could write a quick email or slide deck summarizing outcomes and lessons learned from a recent initiative. This keeps others informed and reinforces your value. 🤝 5. Build One-on-One Relationships Visibility isn’t just about public recognition. Building strong relationships with colleagues and leaders through regular check-ins or coffee chats can help ensure your contributions are recognized organically. Visibility doesn’t require loud self-promotion. By focusing on collaboration, thoughtful communication, and consistent results, you can gain the recognition you deserve while staying true to your authentic self. #visibility #careerstrategies #authenticity

🌱 Becoming an expert is a journey of deliberate practice, not a race. Inspired by Andrej Karpathy a pioneer in AI from OpenAI, Tesla, and now Eureka Labs, did some research about this and here’s a deeper dive into his timeless advice amplified with insights from his blog, talks, and recent work. This approach has fueled my own growth, and it can work for you too! 1. Iteratively take on concrete projects and accomplish them depth-wise, learning “on demand” (i.e., don’t learn bottom-up breadth-wise):
Skip the endless theory trap start with a specific, solvable project that excites you, like building a basic ML model to solve a personal problem. Karpathy’s PhD at Stanford and Tesla’s Autopilot work show this: he tackled tractable neural network challenges, learning as needed. In his “Survival Guide to a PhD,” he advocates for quick prototyping and publishing results to build momentum. From his 2016 post, aim for 10,000 hours of focused project work. Recently, at a Berkeley AI hackathon talk, he urged, “while true: build and publish projects” to turn small hacks into innovations. Start small, scale iteratively say, a chatbot for a hobby and watch your skills compound. 2. Teach/summarize everything you learn in your own words:
Turn knowledge into mastery by explaining it yourself think of it as the Feynman Technique on steroids. Karpathy embodies this with his Stanford CS231n course, “Zero to Hero” YouTube series, and Eureka Labs’ AI education tools. In a 2024 post on “shortification of learning,” he cautions against passive TikTok-style content, recommending 4-hour deep-dive sessions for note-taking and re-reading. On the Lex Fridman podcast, he advised beginners to teach publicly blog, tweet, or share a GitHub repo to solidify understanding and gain feedback. Try summarizing a recent skill (e.g., a Python concept) in a personal wiki, mimicking his detailed backpropagation blog posts, turning learning into a shareable legacy. 3. Only compare yourself to younger you, never to others:
Ditch the peer comparison trap that breeds imposter syndrome. Karpathy, reflecting on his PhD struggles in his guide, emphasizes ego management and tracking personal progress like evolving from a novice coder to deploying production AI. In a 2024 talk, he linked this to lifelong learning with AI tools, noting your unique “original knowledge” (e.g., experiment outcomes) sets you apart. Journal milestones say, mastering a new framework this month rather than eyeing others’ LinkedIn highlights. His advice to “snowball your work” by building on past versions of yourself fosters resilience and compounding expertise over time. This isn’t just theory, it’s how Karpathy became an AI leader, and it’s transformed my career shifts. Following this approach can help you create a great impact in your life.

Naval said: “Productize Yourself.” But most people overcomplicate it. The work you do with ease — that others find hard or boring — 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 is the gateway to your Authority. But no one can value it, if they never see it. I've helped 20+ CXOs build their brand. And here’s how the smart CXOs productize themselves  without building apps, teams, or tech: 𝟭/ 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 → Turn thoughts into assets → Build demand for your brain → Attract respect, not just likes 𝟮/ 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 → Start a weekly habit → Share your unique lens → Add deep-dive articles on website 𝟯/ 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 → Package your best thinking → Build long-term credibility, instantly → Get invited to rooms you never pitched These are your Authority assets. They work for you — 24x7. Like an opportunity magnet. You don’t need scale. You need clarity. And a voice. Once your expertise becomes visible, opportunity stops being random. Here is how you make a quick start: What’s one thing people ask you for help with? Write a LinkedIn post that starts with, “Most people don’t realize that…” Let your lived experience speak. That’s the first step to turning your brain into a brand. -- ♻️ Repost if this resonated. 🔔 Follow Shiv Shenoy for simple ways to build your authority brand.

We don’t talk enough about the danger of being a subject-matter expert. Expertise is a gift. It’s earned through discipline, curiosity, and years of showing up. But expertise can also trap us. When you spend long enough in a particular industry, surrounded by people who speak the same technical language, something subtle begins to happen: Your words get heavier. Your sentences get longer. Your communication becomes a private club. Before long, you’re speaking in acronyms, frameworks, and jargon that feel completely normal to you yet are entirely inaccessible to the people you’re trying to influence. If people can’t understand you, they can’t follow you. If they can’t follow you, they can’t trust you. And if they can’t trust you, your expertise becomes… irrelevant. One of the most consistent patterns I see when training leaders and teams is brilliance getting lost in translation. Not because people don’t know their work, but because they’re too close to it. They communicate for peers, not for stakeholders. Storytelling and Leadership, we run specialized workshops for SMEs within organizations, helping experts translate complexity into clarity, and insight into influence. Because in the age of AI, the competitive advantage is no longer what you know but how well you can communicate what you know. Three practices SMEs can start applying today: 1. Replace jargon with meaning. If you can’t explain the idea without the acronym, you don’t understand it well enough or you’re not thinking about the listener. 2. Lead with the “why,” not the mechanism. People engage with purpose first. The mechanics can always follow. One of my mentors once told me: “sell the benefits, not the features.” Agreed! 3. Test your message outside your circle. Share your explanation with someone far removed from your field. If they don’t get it, refine. Clarity is a discipline. To my SME circle, remember: expertise is powerful. But expertise, communicated simply, is transformative. #StorytellingAndLeadership #Leadership #Communication #SoftSkills #StrategicComms #ThoughtLeadership #ClarityIsPower

In my conversations with the top C-suite leaders, one thing often comes up: the hesitation and fear to step into personal branding. I hear things like: “What if I look self-promotional?” “I’m too busy running the company.” “My work should speak for itself.” But here’s the truth I share with my clients: You’re not just competing for market share, you’re competing for attention. And in a world where 82% of people trust leaders who have a visible presence online (LinkedIn, Edelman Trust Barometer), staying invisible is no longer an option. Here’s why personal branding is non-negotiable for high-authority leaders: 1️⃣ People trust leaders, not logos. Your corporate brand can only go so far. Studies show that 76% of executives are more likely to trust a company led by a CEO they recognize and respect (Harvard Business Review). By building your personal brand, you humanize your business and earn the trust of stakeholders, employees, and even investors. 2️⃣ Your influence can attract top talent. Nearly 50% of employees say they research a company leader’s social presence before deciding to join (Glassdoor). Personal branding doesn’t just help you attract customers—it’s a magnet for the best and brightest talent. 3️⃣ A strong personal brand is crisis insurance. Think about it: When a crisis hits, would you rather be an anonymous figure scrambling to explain yourself or a respected thought leader people already trust? Leaders with strong personal brands have an edge in controlling the narrative. 4️⃣ You’re already being Googled: control what they see. Like it or not, 71% of professionals Google their leaders (Forbes). If your online presence is nonexistent or outdated, you’re missing a huge opportunity to tell your story your way. I tell them: Personal branding isn’t about self-promotion, it’s about leadership. Here’s how you can start: 1. Share your expertise. Write LinkedIn posts or articles about the challenges your industry is facing and how you’re solving them. Thought leadership builds authority. 2. Show your values. Highlight causes or initiatives you care about. Employees and customers want to align with leaders who stand for something bigger than profits. 3. Be visible but authentic. It’s not about perfection—it’s about being relatable. Share stories from your leadership journey, lessons learned, and even failures. If you’re afraid of personal branding, here’s the truth: Your reputation isn’t optional, it’s already being built, with or without you. The question is, will you own it or let others decide it for you? The leaders dominating their industries today aren’t just experts in their fields- they’re visible, trusted, and human. And when you build your personal brand, you’re not just investing in yourself. You’re building credibility, trust, and opportunities for your company. Are you ready to take control of your narrative? #Leadership #PersonalBranding #Headhunting #ExecutiveHiring #Growth