https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-18 https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1/dealing-with-politics monthly 0.5 2026-01-13 https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1/event-four-gt5ld monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1/event-five-gdc5s monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1/event-three-fb3zn monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.expert-practice.org/events-2-1/event-two-h9znf monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary daily 0.75 2026-04-15 https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/beyond-technical-mastery-what-actually-drives-influence-at-work monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1776222324803-Q5DXQI8DIFC06KW5NYSR/Bridging+the+communication+gap.png Article Library - Beyond Technical Mastery: What Actually Drives Influence at Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/bef89324-19e1-4070-a852-51e735befca5/Picture+1.png Article Library - Beyond Technical Mastery: What Actually Drives Influence at Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/7a111404-732b-4dfb-a16d-4f77494c44f4/Cognitive+Moat+of+Decision+Making.png Article Library - Beyond Technical Mastery: What Actually Drives Influence at Work - The Executive Visibility and Credibility Gaps A lack of regular engagement between technical execution and those driving strategic vision creates a significant risk of misallocating funds and resources. Experts often find their individual contributions invisible to the board because they themselves may initiate solutions that don’t contribute directly to business outcomes. Or their analysis is not adequately communicated through multiple layers of management. (You can read more on this here about the cognitive moat of decision making). This results in an "Influence Gap," where strategic insights from internal experts can be overlooked in favour of managerial voices, or at best, misrepresented by managerial roles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/4096ef81-d253-4818-aab0-f4045b02312f/Organisational+structures+in+brand+colours.png Article Library - Beyond Technical Mastery: What Actually Drives Influence at Work Teaching others to fish: Identify the unique technical and knowledge contributions that only you can make – those tasks and responsibilities that take years to master. Then identify those tasks that others could do for themselves for which you have become a bottleneck. Others may not be able to complete the task to as a high quality or as quickly as you, but it often doesn’t need to be. Coach, mentor, and teach your stakeholders to become less dependent on you. Get out of your own head: Practice and develop your active listening skills to understand what is most important to your audience and then translate technical solutions into the context that matters to your audience. Build Social Capital: Influence is built on reciprocity, not just raw data and logical solutions. The more people feel that you genuinely understand them and are genuinely curious about their rationale, the more they will reciprocate that back. If you want to be understood, first seek to understand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/86972b94-524b-4a9a-b378-b6a7ae2bd16b/Table+2.png Article Library - Beyond Technical Mastery: What Actually Drives Influence at Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/why-your-evidence-isnt-enough-how-experts-can-increase-their-impact monthly 0.5 2026-04-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1773982496034-PA89NFF5UL4UXMA49F8X/unsplash-image-qwtCeJ5cLYs.jpg Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough - Make it stand out A dashboard on a computer screen highlighting various metrics https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/59e80820-6656-4995-a302-cf90aa930e9e/Aristotle%27s+Pyramid.png Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote about ethos, pathos, and logos in his writing in Rhetoric. In his "artistic proofs," Aristotle introduced these three modes of persuasion to analyze how a speaker can convince an audience through credibility (ethos), emotion (pathos), and logic (logos). Yes, this model is 1700 years old, but lived experience and research between now and then prove the model has stood the test of time – logos can be persuasive, but if there is a likelihood of an emotional response to your logos, it is likely to be insufficient on its own. As an expert, you probably operate very strongly in Logos and Ethos. Your credibility (ethos), in part, comes from your knowledge and your proven ability to support your claims with evidence. You may also deliberately avoid Pathos because emotional appeals can feel inconsistent with the objectivity expected in your technical work. However, human decision-making, particularly in groups, rarely relies on logic alone. Decisions are influenced by conflicting priorities, incentives, relationships, competing agendas, group dynamics, and cognitive biases. When your evidence slams into that environment, it will compete with those other factors, and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1772103219126-3WEMQSROPQEX12WO3XNQ/Cognitive+Moat+of+Decision+Making.png Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough - The Obstacles You May Face Even if you decide to strengthen your storytelling skills, there are often organisational and cognitive barriers that limit the influence of expertise. I have written about these obstacles in previous articles, such as “The Cognitive Moat of Decision Making”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/82925683-ce13-4583-8b34-7c1be5f0a336/Before+After+Bridge.png Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough - Use a “Before–After–Bridge” Narrative A basic approach to storytelling you can apply to a technical explanation is the Before–After–Bridge model. This approach helps your audience quickly understand the relevance of your expertise and solution without requiring them to process all the technical details immediately. Start by describing the “Before” state in terms they will feel are important: the current situation, including the risk, inefficiency, threat, or constraint that the organisation is facing. Provide actual examples that your audience would have likely experienced themselves. This establishes group understanding and demonstrates that you understand the business problem, not just the technical system. Next, you describe the “After” state: what the group could experience if the issue is solved. This might include improved performance, reduced risk, increased capability, or new business opportunities. Importantly, this step allows leaders to visualise the outcome before you introduce your beautiful technical solution. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/d02cee35-fd34-4ce0-b1ff-2810ab35d5ab/Journey+of+the+Problem.png Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough - Walk the Audience Through Your “Journey of the Problem” Another effective storytelling technique is to structure your explanation around the journey of the problem rather than the architecture of the solution. Experts often instinctively start by describing the solution itself: its components, design logic, or analytical methodology. While this approach is logical from a technical perspective, it can be difficult for non-specialists to follow and does not create an emotional connection with the solution. Instead, you can guide the audience through the sequence of events that led to your discovery of the issue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/d490c225-68c9-411f-9931-684e47733c38/Ladder+of+Abstraction.png Article Library - Why Your Evidence Isn’t Enough - Adjust Your Altitude One useful mental model is the Ladder of Abstraction. At the bottom of the ladder are detailed technical findings. At the top are strategic implications and organisational outcomes. When communicating with leaders, it often helps to deliberately move between these levels: Move upward to explain why your solution matters for strategy Move downward to provide specific evidence or examples This approach helps decision makers connect your analysis with their priorities. Build Alignment Before Formal Presentations Influence rarely happens in a single meeting. One of the most common pieces of advice I give my expert clients is “don’t put all your eggs in a single basket [i.e., into a single presentation to the executive]”. In my experience, it has been proven repeatedly that the most successful experts spend time socialising and lobbying ideas informally before formal decision points. This may involve: discussing early insights with stakeholders testing assumptions building shared understanding across teams proactively building relationships before you need anything from each other. By the time a formal recommendation is presented, key stakeholders are already familiar with the core ideas, and you will have likely identified any potential resistance and support. https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/translating-expertise-into-strategic-impact monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1773377062804-Y9MB3ZHH1L09X4KBIG1S/unsplash-image-fzOITuS1DIQ.jpg Article Library - Translating Expertise into Strategic Impact - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/the-cognitive-moat-of-decision-making monthly 0.5 2026-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/c3d25bc3-4415-4de9-8a47-b17a64249f47/Cognitive+Moat+of+Decision+Making.png Article Library - The Cognitive Moat of Decision Making - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/architectureofinfluence monthly 0.5 2026-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/fc54d232-9792-4690-9147-538e3204bbb1/Expert+Influence+Pillar.png Article Library - The Architecture of Expert Influence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.expert-practice.org/articlelibrary/becoming-an-expert-with-impact monthly 0.5 2026-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/142ff082-6239-4a38-b026-f64213aa2c3e/Screenshot+2026-02-18+at+5.04.13%E2%80%AFpm.png Article Library - Becoming an Expert with Impact https://www.expert-practice.org/groupstart daily 0.75 2026-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/33fc5a15-1714-4274-aee7-7d9b54a7e5df/The+Expertship+Institute+-+Yellow+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/2f47e793-5513-4de4-b780-6a95bb93e427/Darin_Fox-6935.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1740593151.442743-QJEYLTOSTPEDGAPKBNDU/imgg-gi3-03ha663f.png https://www.expert-practice.org/1on1coaching daily 0.75 2026-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693679142-DIPZSLMTGRHSANB3C84U/unsplash-image-P6mdg0z5tHc.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693456992-EVE7IW0DCSUOXEVRA7P4/unsplash-image-VlTJdP8ZY1c.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693340692-DFSW593EEADQ9E7ZO34C/unsplash-image-VMKBFR6r_jg.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/small-group-coaching daily 0.75 2026-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767691716725-Q539A6Q3ATNL8UM2H4O2/unsplash-image-hCb3lIB8L8E.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/general-2 daily 0.75 2026-01-08 https://www.expert-practice.org/new-page daily 0.75 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/dbfef924-6f3b-4be0-9588-fedbfadc1b19/Darin_Fox-6935.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767759819897-ADQQJVS4FXSCS9EDCFRE/unsplash-image-71CjSSB83Wo.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/new-page-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/33fc5a15-1714-4274-aee7-7d9b54a7e5df/The+Expertship+Institute+-+Yellow+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1765399878452-0T99DX79T8EBV43CNMYZ/unsplash-image-smgTvepind4.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1765400453934-4XLXCV9U8ONLOBRQQW8E/unsplash-image-JZMdGltAHMo.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/general-2-1 daily 0.75 2026-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767755994146-LCSNP6VZEIFBSBLZLALC/unsplash-image-uIE9f6gV8rI.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767756418835-TVAOVANU28DE4LKGRKE2/unsplash-image-Fp4ERdkR5jU.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767756914020-HZIRBTZL60KZZ0LYIQHK/unsplash-image-_19izoqt2is.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/mastering-expertship daily 0.75 2026-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/33fc5a15-1714-4274-aee7-7d9b54a7e5df/The+Expertship+Institute+-+Yellow+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/fa748ab6-83bc-49b3-a2a8-d071c9095e66/Exertship+Capability+Model.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/272cb4a9-e153-4593-a20b-05f6f9588df0/Darin_Fox-6903.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767761633580-TOY1AOMI6RVJB19ZHU3T/unsplash-image-71CjSSB83Wo.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/expertship-programs daily 0.75 2026-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/33fc5a15-1714-4274-aee7-7d9b54a7e5df/The+Expertship+Institute+-+Yellow+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/02c808ae-27c9-4fb1-b731-8c39865948f3/Mastering+Expertship+-+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/302d6707-1646-4182-af0b-09eaac53b23e/Leader+of+Experts+-+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/2a639b42-93dc-4500-89d8-272011a91071/Expertship360+-+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/ad73c975-6b3e-4a63-8ab8-ce9f1727ce82/Darin_Fox-6903.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/leader-of-experts daily 0.75 2026-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/302d6707-1646-4182-af0b-09eaac53b23e/Leader+of+Experts+-+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/fa748ab6-83bc-49b3-a2a8-d071c9095e66/Exertship+Capability+Model.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/8457a737-40b3-42e0-917f-e0772ec12918/Darin_Fox-7036.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/expertship360 daily 0.75 2026-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/33fc5a15-1714-4274-aee7-7d9b54a7e5df/The+Expertship+Institute+-+Yellow+on+Black.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/fa748ab6-83bc-49b3-a2a8-d071c9095e66/Exertship+Capability+Model.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/e56e3ab2-55d8-4328-9055-7b0f1c0ea6b7/Screenshot+2025-12-15+at+10.35.23%E2%80%AFam.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/09cac440-266f-4eb5-9621-8f99eafa8ed2/Screenshot+2025-12-15+at+10.38.52%E2%80%AFam.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/8457a737-40b3-42e0-917f-e0772ec12918/Darin_Fox-7036.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/home daily 1.0 2026-04-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771238040916-O8I08ETASKOVQZC1E7NC/unsplash-image-uyXNXIhisrU.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771238116825-F74LGEYWXS42QJQ6X440/unsplash-image-nxZDMUQhN4o.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771238183833-H0CGKG5X392TFV5MPJIW/unsplash-image-Sj0iMtq_Z4w.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/8457a737-40b3-42e0-917f-e0772ec12918/Darin_Fox-7036.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/expertstart daily 0.75 2026-02-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/2f47e793-5513-4de4-b780-6a95bb93e427/Darin_Fox-6935.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1740593151.442743-QJEYLTOSTPEDGAPKBNDU/imgg-gi3-03ha663f.png https://www.expert-practice.org/author/darin-fox daily 0.75 2026-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/5c17d19b-9b8a-4dc1-9973-c04423fd9153/Darin_Fox-6724.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/smgwaitlist daily 0.75 2026-02-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/5c17d19b-9b8a-4dc1-9973-c04423fd9153/Darin_Fox-6724.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1755119850814-Z6NY5TV3903GS8TC2UXT/imgg-demo-zdclfSYT.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1755119850818-7LEBMIMVQTD2DRIYO2RR/imgg-demo-fqpOPE8k.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1755119850821-6WFIH1S00YAKZZTIF678/imgg-demo-bMDK80dv.png https://www.expert-practice.org/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2026-02-22 https://www.expert-practice.org/influenceaudit daily 0.75 2026-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771732900856-27N9NMEN55YE9C084533/unsplash-image-qYFN_Hh1kHQ.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/feedback daily 0.75 2026-02-25 https://www.expert-practice.org/1on1coachbooking daily 0.75 2026-02-22 https://www.expert-practice.org/groupcoachbooking daily 0.75 2026-02-22 https://www.expert-practice.org/1on1coaching-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693679142-DIPZSLMTGRHSANB3C84U/unsplash-image-P6mdg0z5tHc.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693456992-EVE7IW0DCSUOXEVRA7P4/unsplash-image-VlTJdP8ZY1c.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1767693340692-DFSW593EEADQ9E7ZO34C/unsplash-image-VMKBFR6r_jg.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/feedback-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771979933164-NX46XKJG9XGC7ZWSCCNZ/unsplash-image-YUuSAJkS3U4.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/feedback-1-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/1771979933164-NX46XKJG9XGC7ZWSCCNZ/unsplash-image-YUuSAJkS3U4.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/contact daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/8457a737-40b3-42e0-917f-e0772ec12918/Darin_Fox-7036.jpg https://www.expert-practice.org/new-page-4 daily 0.75 2026-03-31 https://www.expert-practice.org/store daily 0.75 58099-12-20 https://www.expert-practice.org/store/p/1on1coaching3 monthly 0.5 2026-02-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/9a5b98c7-fc5c-43c3-bf85-9c8b31e8c2ce/Woman+climbing+stairs.png Store - Three 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - Woman climbing stairs.png https://www.expert-practice.org/store/p/1on1coaching-6sessions monthly 0.5 2026-02-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/0c83767c-b377-4937-8281-5b83550189e7/6+flowers.png Store - Six 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - 6 flowers.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/9a5b98c7-fc5c-43c3-bf85-9c8b31e8c2ce/Woman+climbing+stairs.png Store - Six 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - Woman climbing stairs.png (Copy) https://www.expert-practice.org/store/p/1on1coaching-12sessions monthly 0.5 2026-02-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/91fb91a1-f530-4df0-9bcf-0d8d5e8723f2/Pupa+to+butterfly.png Store - Twelve 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - Pupa to butterfly.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/0c83767c-b377-4937-8281-5b83550189e7/6+flowers.png Store - Twelve 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - 6 flowers.png (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6930ec8e1902765bd8d225bf/9a5b98c7-fc5c-43c3-bf85-9c8b31e8c2ce/Woman+climbing+stairs.png Store - Twelve 1on1 60-minute expert coaching sessions - Woman climbing stairs.png (Copy) (Copy)