What Makes an Expert?

I’ve been reflecting on what true expertise actually is and I came up with this formula:

Experience + Education + Empathy = Expertise.

For me, an expert sits at the intersection of lived experience, education, and empathy.

• Experience brings context and credibility.

• Education is the act of intentionally exploring other perspectives, engaging with reliable sources, and challenging personal assumptions.

• Empathy brings a deeper degree of care and understanding with an ability to hold complexity, even when views differ.

Last night I was in a PD session after school. After a long day and a long week, I will admit it was hard to be fully present at first.

And yet, I was drawn in. Not because the ideas were unfamiliar, but because the presenter brought lived experience, was deeply educated not only in the topic itself but in the opposing viewpoints as well, and held genuine empathy for all. The presenter also brought an advanced sense of humour, which helped.

Weaving experience, education, and empathy together in this way is rare and difficult but it’s that kind of expertise that makes someone worth listening to and learning from.