From Subject Matter Expert to Team Leader

Subject matter experts know everything about their fields of expertise.

You’re probably a widely-respected thought leader in your industry, publishing articles and speaking at conferences left and right. 

But unfortunately, being a thought leader doesn’t automatically make you a team leader. Coach Deb Hordon shared an example of a client of hers who’d been a successful technologist at a tech company, developing one of the most successful products. However, when he was promoted to executive, he struggled. 

What went wrong? 

“Subject matter experts singularly focus on their domain…As a result, they don’t think multi-dimensionally, which is required for successful cross-functional collaboration and complex organizational problem-solving. In other words, subject matter experts’ tremendous value is also the source of their failure as leaders unless they consciously change their mindset,” she explained. 

So, how can SMEs transition into team leader roles? 

 

✅ Recognize that Different Skillsets Are Required

 Business school professor Steve Weber suggests that many successful SMEs don’t understand how their role and expectations change in their transition to leadership roles. 

“It is my experience that this lack of understanding of the transformative job change is the number one cause of technical team leader failure. Unless an SME understands this, they do not actively pursue the four major changes they need to be successful,” he notes.

He mentions four key components that are most important in moving from SME to leader.

First, SMEs are often focused on their own deliverables and individual performance, while leaders need to motivate a team to pursue progress collectively. “Their focus is on outcomes, deliverables, and target dates, not individual tasks,” Weber explains. 

Second, aspiring-leader SMEs need to develop leadership skills like relationship building, conflict resolution, and decision-making in their toolbelts. While some skills useful as an SME are necessary, leaders need more diverse capabilities. 

Third, they should be able to communicate with different levels of personnel both in and outside of the organization. Each unique audience “requires a consistent message, but much different content. Success is measured by how many times one of these audiences responds this way – ‘I get it,'” Weber noted. 

Finally, Weber suggests that leaders must treat their friends differently than SMEs because of the inherent power dynamics. Leaders can be friendly but a friend at the company, but not a friend. So, if they end up managing their former friends, they’ll need to discuss the shifting relationship between them. 

 

✅ As a Leader, Understanding Strategy Is More Important than Content Expertise

You are sought after when you’re an SME to share your deep subject expertise. But the expertise required by a leader isn’t in a particular subject. Instead, they must understand business strategy and organization that helps them lead their team. 

For instance, in leading a group, do you know how to hold meetings? Do you understand how to pinpoint each team member’s strengths? Do you have a plan for motivating everyone on your team to be successful? 

This strategic thinking can be foreign for SMEs who haven’t had to consider it before. 

Susan Tardanico, CEO of the Authentic Leadership Alliance, wrote, “When you’re steeped in your subject matter, sometimes it’s challenging to remember to build your awareness, knowledge, and acumen in other areas and aspects of the organization/company.”

SMEs should consider proving that they’re capable of leadership by volunteering for projects or being part of organization-wide teams. 

To be successful, you also need to be skilled in interpersonal dynamics. For instance, you need to understand what motivates your team and triggers them. How do they respond to criticism? Do they appreciate direct advice or balk at it? 

✅ SMEs Often Work Alone, But Leaders Rely on Their Interpersonal Skills 

What’s more, you’ll need to be able to navigate others’ relationships among themselves to lead them effectively. 

“What are the relationships between team members? What hierarchies exist? Actual power usually doesn’t honor the organizational chart. Use your observations to communicate strategically so the team digests your message,” suggests Horden. 

Adding more complexity to this topic is that successful team leaders also navigate power dynamics and relationships among interdepartmental teams. For instance, does one team feel less respected than other teams? Does one team often fail to listen to other teams? 

These are simply issues that SMEs don’t have to be aware of, or if they are, then they don’t have to navigate. 

How does Horden suggest preparing to strategically and interpersonally lead a team? 

“It’s crucial to be aware of your state of mind. Are you confident and feeling included? Are you frustrated or angry? Are you triggered by someone else’s difficult behavior? Are you tired, energized, or bored? Knowing how you behave in these different emotional states is essential; moderate your own behaviors accordingly to stay on your game,” she says. 

 

Planning a Transition from SME to Team Leader 

 

Identifying your goal early on is most important in the transition from SME to team leader.

It takes time and careful planning to develop the leadership skills you’ll need to manage a team, especially if you don’t practice these skills as an SME. 

What’s more, you should recognize that your success as an SME won’t automatically make you a strong leader. 

This guide just scratches the surface of how to transition from SME to team leader. Explore Ivy Exec’s many articles on the topic to develop your leadership skills.