Beware the “certified” expert

Have you ever suspected that the expensive “certified” experts and consultants often fail to deliver? They appear to remain fixed in their views and methods (even when presented with facts contrary to their views) and seem to miss the big picture?

You are not alone in thinking so, and you could be right. In business as well as in our daily life we are assured by “certified” experts – management consultants, project managers, psychologists, life coaches etc, that they (through the methods they use) have the answers to our problems. The focus on the term “certified” is because its use signals someone who is an expert, which could be misleading. So how do you decide which kind of expert to use?

A part of the answer can be found in the way we humans behave and organise ourselves.

The All Assuring Expert

What skills can be certified: Different types of jobs need different types of experts

Most of these experts see themselves as a “knowledge worker,” using their mental skills rather than their labour to produce goods and services. Does this mean that all the “knowledge workers” are equal? 

 No, there are two kinds of jobs – algorithmic and heuristic, and they need different kinds of skills. Algorithmic jobs are made up of tasks in which you follow a set of established instructions down a single pathway to one conclusion.  Heuristic jobs are instead made of tasks that involve trial and error and discovering the solution on your own. 

Light Blue Collar Workers

Algorithmic jobs are repetitive and lend themselves to frameworks and methods that can be taught, assessed and certified. These are what we can term as the “Light Blue Collar” workers. They turn out similar and mostly the same “service widgets” day after day.  Examples of such widgets