One of the biggest identity shifts a leader can face is the moment their value is no longer defined by being the smartest person in the room. For years (sometimes decades) their expertise has been an anchor. It’s the badge that proves their worth and earns respect and credibility. But expertise always has an expiry date.
In a world changing at unprecedented speed, past facts don't automatically map onto current challenges. What was once cutting-edge can quickly become legacy thinking. This creates a collision for leaders whose identity has been built on knowing the answers. When they suddenly realise that their hard-won expertise isn't always the most relevant thing in the room, it's no surprise that a crisis of confidence follows.
And yet, this shift doesn't diminish a leader's value. It simply calls for a different kind of value to emerge.
Why leaders often tie their worth to what they know
It goes without saying that most leaders don't set out to derive their self-worth from expertise. But, because knowledge feels safe and provable, it’s natural that this can start to happen. When leaders point to long careers, qualifications, and bucket loads of experience, it reassures them that they have earned the right to lead. It’s the thing they can always evidence.
Anything outside of that (the vision to create a future that doesn't yet exist, for example) feels uncertain. When the stakes include reputation, career trajectory, and even paying the mortgage, the fear of getting it wrong becomes very real.
Add to this the unspoken assumption in many organisations: If you’re excellent at your job, you must be ready to lead. But this simply leads to a situation where leaders are promoted for what they know, and are then expected to succeed in roles that require a completely different set of muscles. When they're no longer the most knowledgeable person in the room, their confidence can wobble.
The pattern: Leaders holding back until they "know enough"
When leaders equate value with expertise, they naturally hesitate when they feel they don't have enough of it. We often hear people describe an internal narrative of “I'll contribute once I know enough”, leading them to stay quiet in meetings, avoid questions, or delay taking the reins.
The trap is simple: If value comes from expertise, any gap (real or imagined) instantly shrinks their sense of authority. They hold back. They pass up opportunities to lead. They wait for permission they don't need.
Leading experts: When your team knows more than you do
Now imagine a leader in his 30s stepping into a role where he manages someone in their 50s. The first thought might be, what could I possibly someone with decades more experience? Imposter syndrome can easily kick in.
If a leader in this scenario tries to respond by proving their own expertise (matching facts, competing on knowledge) the dynamic can deteriorate. Commonly, each person defends what they know, they butt heads, and progress stalls.
The real breakthrough happens when a leader stops playing the game of "who knows more" and instead elevates the conversation to a shared commitment (the larger context or mission they are both responsible for). Within that frame, the older expert's knowledge remains valuable, but it must be applied to a new reality.
All this is to say that leadership today is often more about challenging, coaching, and expanding people's thinking than it is about imparting knowledge.
Reframing value beyond expertise
Modern leadership calls for a new definition of value. One anchored not in what leaders know, but in what they create. While knowledge may get you to the table, creation is what moves an organisation forward. Effective leaders understand that their role is to expand thinking, spark possibility, set bold direction, and create the space for others to design the detail.
Paradoxically, in many sectors this means that it’s not uncommon for leaders to have much less technical expertise than people in their team. But this can become an advantage. Fresh eyes allow leaders to ask fundamental questions everyone else has stopped asking. These questions can reveal blind spots, open new perspectives, and reshape the path ahead.
Leaders free themselves when they shift from measuring their worth by what they know to measuring it by what they make possible. Your value isn't defined by the expertise you've accumulated. Your value is defined by the future you can unlock. For yourself, your team, and your organisation. And that begins the moment you stop trying to "know enough" and start leading from the commitment you hold.
If you’re ready to redefine your leadership by what you make possible, not what you know, get in touch.