I’ve heard this theme a lot lately:
Jim sure knows a lot about beekeeping. When you hear him talk about it he’s clearly an expert. I definitely have to hire him to run the new apiary I want to start!
There is a significant difference between being able to talk the talk and walk the walk. There are plenty of college professors with multiple PhDs that would absolutely, utterly fail in the real world. That’s not a knock on them as they have found their calling, just a statement of fact about their skills. They are excellent about knowing the topic. Where they fall short is being able to deal with peers, organize a team and stay focused on a small part of the subject given the task at hand.
Jim may know everything about beekeeping. But then anyone who has the time, patience and inclination to read the 8,000+ word Wikipedia article on Beekeeping (this does not include related articles) would sound like an expert. But I wouldn’t necessarily want that person to run my new apiary. Running the apiary requires more skills than just knowing about beekeeping. Maybe this person could do that but I would want more information before making that decision.
The point of this is that not every expert is fit to manage just like every manager may not be an expert in their area. This shouldn’t be taken as a knock on people who fall into either category, instead this is a reminder that expertise (or experience) alone is not a replacement for making sure that people are put in the position to best succeed. Alignment of people to role is one of the biggest in any organization.