This article will outline several of things that get in our way and suggest ways to improve our ability to succeed in having our expertise used successfully by others.

Ignorance

Here is a fundamental truth - most of us don’t recognize how much we know. When we’ve done something for a long time, or read about an idea in 21 places, we assume everyone knows that information. This just isn’t true! Our familiarity and deep understanding gets in our way, because we assume others know what we believe to be obvious.

The first key to getting your expertise used is to proclaim it to yourself. Recognize that what you know is significant and valuable. Without this recognition you won’t know what to share if asked.

Attitude

Before you go too far down this “Man, I’m smart” mental path though, recognize that arrogance is next stumbling block. Certainly, we need to recognize our expertise. Of course we need to value what we know.

But none of this makes us better than other person. My advice? Lose any budding arrogance.

When we are arrogant about what we know, our advice is more about an opportunity to show what we know, than it is about genuinely helping others. When we are confident we can focus on other person’s needs. Be confident in what you know and always be willing to learn more.

Focus on being generous but helpful in your knowledge sharing. By remaining confident in your knowledge and keeping your focus on other person’s needs, you will have your attitude in right place.

Memory

Many people approach training as an adult much like they approached classes when they were in school – and those strategies aren’t always best ones to maximize value from a learning experience. Regardless of length, situation or topic, there are some very specific things that you can do to convert experience into useful learning you can apply in your work and life.

Following are seven strategies that you can apply to convert your time and energy spent in training into real useful learning.

1. Have a goal. Been signed up for some training at work? Decided to attend a seminar on a topic you are interested in? Great! The first thing you should do in any case is set a learning goal. If you are already knowledgeable about topic and have specific things you want to improve, setting your goal or goals should be easy. If this is training you are less excited about attending, or are unclear about, you can still set a goal like: “Learn one new thing I can apply at work,” or “Meet one person I can add to my network.” Having a goal and writing it down focuses your mind and will help you gain real practical value from any learning situation.

2. Take personal responsibility. Take responsibility for your own learning experience. The training may not be most dynamic or engaging you’ve ever been to, but that is ok, because you have a goal. Make that your focus. Perhaps trainer isn’t going to cover that topic exactly. That’s ok – use their expertise. Ask them at a break, probe for other resources. Stay focused on your goal. Your learning is in your control. Take responsibility for getting from experience what you want and need.

3. Ask questions. Don’t understand something? Ask for clarification. Want a little more information? Ask for it. A big part of being responsible for your on learning is asking question to get what you need.