Stop faking it!

Jeanne Trojan @jmtcz

Flickr KariHak

These boxes are a summary of my live presentation message.

Flickr Jorge Bassy

Have you noticed that lately there are a lot more…

gurus,

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experts,

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ninjas,

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and rock stars?

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Have you noticed that these titles – guru, expert, ninja, rock star – are completely meaningless now? If everyone is a guru, then the title loses its significance.

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Remember when ‘expert’ meant a person who had decades of experience, a deep knowledge of their subject and who would never dream of calling themselves an ‘expert’?

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Of course, there are exceptions. Steve Jobs was an expert in his twenties. But, if you’re comparing yourself to Jobs, then…

Flickr ssoosay

‘fake it until you feel it’ The people calling themselves ‘gurus, experts, ninjas and rock stars’ are following this method – ‘act like you’re an expert and eventually people will believe you are’. They don’t have any skills, knowledge or experience, but if they promote themselves as experts, even they will believe it.

Flickr Rosaura Ochoa

Popular fields for this method are social media and marketing. Many people aren’t sure what these fields really mean so it’s easier to fake being an expert in them.

It’s easy to find these ‘fake it until you feel it’ people on LinkedIn.

This woman is even a ‘wizard’. What does that mean?

The point is that we can name ourselves anything we want now and it has no relation to how much we know or how credible we are.

You can find lots of advice on how to attain ‘guru’ status on the Internet.

An expert in anything in just TWO steps?! It’s ridiculous. I think this way of thinking and acting hurts the client, the profession and even the fakers themselves. Let me show you what I mean.

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Let’s imagine a ‘marketing expert’ He has no real knowledge or experience, but he promotes himself as an expert. Eventually, a potential client wants to meet him to talk about a project.

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He’s read enough Seth Godin to know all the right buzzwords to use and he impresses the potential client enough to get hired for the project.

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Because he has no real skills or knowledge, the project is a complete failure and the client is stuck with the bill.

Flickr Atomic Jeep

The next time the client looks for a marketing expert, how does he know the difference between the professionals and the fakers? The fakers are usually more visible on social media. Unfortunately, this makes the social media and marketing professions look like something anyone can do.

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And it hurts the fakers, I think. Deep down inside they know that they’re not experts.

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But they keep getting endorsed on LinkedIn.

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And, they speak at events. But, they are secretly afraid of being exposed for what they really are. That must be an uncomfortable way to live.

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Wouldn’t it be easier to just be honest and say that you’re learning and hope to be really good at your profession in the future? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the work and not just on self-promotion?

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I think potential clients and employers should start asking tough questions and demanding to talk to real references.

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And the fakers should be brave enough to be honest about what they can and can’t do. This community needs experts, but real ones.

Stop faking it!

Jeanne Trojan @jmtcz

Flickr KariHak