Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction In When Expertise Isn’t the Answer, I argued that technical expertise is remarkably well suited to recognizing established solutions. Leadership, however, increasingly asks us to solve problems for which no established solution exists—not by abandoning expertise, but by extending disciplined expertise beyond the limits of pattern recognition. That...
Tag Archives: technical expertise
When Expertise Isn’t the Answer
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Most professions reward expertise and this generally plays as exactly what you’d expect for the profession to be effective. Patients deserve physicians who recognize subtle diagnoses. Aircraft deserve engineers who understand failure modes. Organizations benefit when accountants know the subtleties of tax law, software developers understand minute...
The Second Apprenticeship
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Organizations love promoting experts. It makes intuitive sense. The engineer who designed the breakthrough product becomes the engineering manager. The scientist who built the most successful laboratory becomes department chair. The professor with the strongest research portfolio becomes dean. The physician with the broadest clinical, educational, and...