Expert
Confident, Certainty, Self-trust
"Trust yourself. You know Enough."
Total Character Score
3.7
Character Statements
I trust what I know, and have the confidence to act on it.
3.7
I form strong opinions, even with limited information.
3.7
It bothers me when I don’t have the answer to a question.
3.7
Your Expert is the part of you which gives you:
Trusting your expertise and experience to guide you well
A willingness to take a bold position, offer your opinion, share your point of view
Courage to speak up, even when what you have to say may be unpopular
Confidence that you can rise to meet almost any challenge
Learner
Humility, Open-mindedness, Curiosity
"Never stop learning."
Total Character Score
3.7
Character Statements
I am curious, open-minded, and willing to question what I think I know.
3.7
I often answer questions with other questions.
3.7
Sometimes reluctant to assert a strong opinion, because I'm so aware of gaps in my knowledge.
3.7
Your Learner is the part of you which gives you:
Humility: no matter how much you know, what you don’t know is always greater: This keeps your ego in check
The capacity to hold contradictory ideas and paradoxes, embrace ambiguity: You are comfortable with not knowing
Insatiable curiosity, manifesting as a delight in good questions rather than an attachment to fixed answers.
Overuse Patterns
Your score of 3 suggests moderate risk of over-using Being.
You may be over-using Expert if:
You may over-rely on prior knowledge, which can crowd out new or disconfirming information.
By default, you assume that your thoughts and opinions are correct, operating from the firm belief that your answer is the right answer.
You focus more on what you know than what you don’t know.
You may listen poorly, instead thinking about what you will say next, how you will get your point across and “win” the interaction.
You may suffer from a fragile confidence: playing big while feeling small inside. You are susceptible to a rapid crumbling of confidence when you face criticism, or become aware of your gaps in knowledge.
Your score of 3 suggests moderate risk of over-using Being.
You may be over-using Learner if:
You underestimate yourself: you overuse your comfort with uncertainty and doubt. This can undermine the authority of your voice and the influence you might have.
You believe that you’re a work in progress, that you’re still learning, that you’ve always just scratched the surface. This can be a form of armor against the vulnerability of stating an opinion, and facing others’ disagreement or criticism.
You may be deferential to authorities and experts, borrowing their credibility, which can undermine your own.
Addressing Overuse
You can address overuse of Expert by accessing the strengths of Learner:
Cultivate curiosity: tilt the balance of your communication away from making statements, telling, explaining and advocating, and towards asking, listening, reflecting and testing hypotheses.
Ask yourself, “What do I believe, and how might I be wrong?” (Jennifer Garvey Berger).
You can address overuse of Learner by accessing the strengths of Expert:
Rather than asking what you don’t know, ask yourself what you do know and what lessons you’ve learned from your experience.
Notice when and how you undermine your own right to express an opinion or advocate for a position. (For example, asking yourself, “Who am I to say that?”)
Balancing Expert Learner
Why does Expert/Learner balance matter?
To find grounded, calm confidence, free of arrogance and false humility.
To find the courage to make decisions with limited and incomplete information.
To be open to changing your mind, seeing differently, drawing new conclusions.
How do you know when Expert and Learner are balanced?
You neither exaggerate nor minimize your knowledge and experience.
Your confidence is steady, even as you encounter challenges, disappointments, mistakes and gaps.