Episode #116- As a Leader, You Can’t Know It All with Wanda Wallace

Your expertise as a leader is impactful, but today’s guest proves that you just can’t know it all. You do not have to be nor are you expected to be the expert in all areas. But how can you leverage your own expertise and the expertise of those you lead and work with?

Today’s guest is Wanda Wallace and she has a book published on this exact topic, You Can't Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise. Wanda is the managing partner of an organization called Leadership forum and in addition to being a published author, she is also the host of the podcast Out of the Comfort Zone. She was formerly in the academia space and now as an entrepreneur, Wanda works internationally with huge and significant companies, combining her knowledge in both areas and sharing her knowledge globally.

In our conversation today, we not only talk about the content of her book, but we discuss human behavior, relationships, and the interesting take she has on the challenges faced by women and minorities in leadership. She dives into the concept of being an expert and when it’s important to lean into our own expertise.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Wanda’s background and current roles

• Her fascination in how people see the world and make meaning out of everything

• Your conclusions impact your behavior and relationships

• How to stop yourself from jumping to conclusions

• The companies that are good at dealing with conflict

• The topics addressed in Wanda’s book (linked below)

• Why you can’t be a generalist

• The difference between an expert and a spanning leader

• What to do if you don’t have expertise in an important area

• Creating leverage when in a spanning role

• When to lean in to your expertise

• Why this is particularly challenging for women and minorities

• When to stay safe and take risks out of your comfort zone

• How to show that you can lead out of your zone of expertise

• Wanda’s book recommendation and daily rituals

About Our Guest:

As Managing Partner of Leadership Forum, Wanda helps organizations improve the quality of their conversations. Better conversations result in better relationships and better performance in every aspect from strategic insight, to talent, teams and individual capability. Wanda is passionate about helping people, particularly in under-represented groups, take control of their careers and make great contributions to their organizations. Wanda is also the host of the Out of the Comfort Zone podcast and author of You Can't Know It All: Leading in