PPP 392 | Leading When You Can't Know It All, With Wanda T. Wallace

People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

Leading In The Age of Deep Expertise

Not everyone aspires to be a VP or higher someday, nor should they. But could it be that some of us are held back because the deep expertise that got us to our current position isn’t what is needed to get to additional levels of responsibility? Or, if that additional responsibility is given to us anyway, we struggle to thrive because the skills to succeed at that next level are different from what we’re used to?

I think so, which is why I’m excited to introduce you to Wanda T. Wallace. Wanda is the author of an insightful book You Can't Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise.

In this episode, you’re going to hear Wanda describe the difference between being an expert leader vs a spanning leader. She’ll explain how the way we add value is different when we’re a spanning leader. Wanda will talk about how to deal with mistakes--both when others make them as well as when we do. She’ll talk about how to better deal with ambiguity that comes along with greater responsibility as well as how to develop trust across a boarder base of people. Before we’re done Wanda will talk about executive presence and share some advice specifically for women. It’s an engaging discussion with someone who specializes in helping women and men get to the top, stick, and thrive.

Learn more about Wanda and her book at Leadership-Forum.com/wanda-wallace.

For more episodes on this topic, check out:

• Episode 75 and 76, with Keith Murnighan about his book Do Nothing. It's about how to not over-manage.
• Episode 122, with Shane Snow who has some surprising ideas about accelerating your career, and
• Episode 125, with Liz Wiseman about her book Rookie Smarts.

No Freaking Idea!

Do you know someone who is in college or maybe recently graduated?

My experience is there are a growing number of people who dread being asked the question, “So, what’s the plan?” When it comes to their career, they have no freaking idea!

I bring this up because we’re rolling out a new course entitled just that: No Freaking Idea: How to Navigate Career Uncertaity. It’s a career guide for people who don’t know what they want to do, and it has been so fun to hear the feedback on the course.

Whether it’s you who is wondering about next steps in your career or a son or daughter and you'd like to give them this as a gift, learn more by going to NoFreakingIdea.courses. Thanks!

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Cinematic Suspense Series Episode 008 by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7669-cinematic-suspense-series-episode-008 License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Energetic & Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10443-energetic-drive-indie-rock License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license