In our recent article, “Are We Blocking the Full Potential of Our Experts” we highlighted a surprising trend: individuals in highly specialized fields often underrate their performance compared to how their colleagues perceive them.

This insight stems from our Expertship360 tool, the premier feedback mechanism designed to help experts understand their strengths and areas for improvement. The Expertship360 assesses nine key capabilities identified by research and experience to enhance performance and career progression for subject matter experts.

One of these nine capabilities is Market Context which is the focus of this article.

Market Context: Why it is important.

Among the nine capabilities in the Expertship capability model, Market Context stands out as a critical yet often underdeveloped skill.

Market Context is the comprehensive understanding of how an organisation operates and its external environment. Experts who excel in this area are more likely to be invited to strategic discussions, as their insights and recommendations consider broader organisational interdependencies and strategic alignment. Master Experts not only support strategy with their knowledge but also influence it by identifying emerging threats and opportunities.

What does our data say?

Market Context is the lowest scoring capability

Market Context is the lowest scoring of the nine capabilities in the Expertship360 and six of the nine questions that make up Market Context (highlighted in red) are in the ten lowest-scoring questions in the whole 81-question assessment.

Market Context is also the lowest-scoring capability even among our top 20 highest-scoring experts in the whole Expertship360 database. However, Market Context represents the largest gap between our top 20 and the overall average meaning this is where these 20 performers differentiate themselves the most from everyone else.

It’s not all bad

A thematic analysis of the written feedback provided by stakeholders in the Expertship360 highlighted some of the most common strengths experts share in the capability of Market Context and a number of recommendations about where experts could improve further. The most common recommendation was also reflected in the data – navigating internal politics – a topic that will be explored in a future article.

Why Strategic Thinking Capability is Low Among Subject Matter Experts

Strategic thinking is not just for executives; it’s a critical skill for experts at all levels. In today’s fast-paced environment, strategic thinking is crucial for long-term success.

However, many professionals who are deep subject matter experts (SMEs) often have not developed their strategic thinking ability. Here are some key reasons we have learned from our data and coaching over 2500 subject matter experts globally:

1. Perceived Irrelevance of Strategic Thinking

Many experts mistakenly believe that strategic thinking is not important or relevant to their roles. They often view strategy as something that only executives and upper management should worry about, while they focus on their specialized tasks. This incorrect and dangerous view is often reinforced by their stakeholders.

If experts do not see their peers or leaders engaging in strategic thinking, they are less likely to do so themselves.

2. Disdain for “Management Speak”

Most strategy training comes across as “management speak,” filled with jargon and abstract concepts that do not resonate with experts. This language barrier makes it difficult for them to engage with and understand strategic initiatives.

3. High Workloads and Immediate Problem Solving

Experts are often overwhelmed with their current workloads and the immediate problems they need to solve. This constant fire-fighting leaves little room for long-term strategic thinking. The more an expert is that “go-to person”, the more people go to them. It can feel like they need a ticket dispensing machine at their desk. “Now serving #87!”. Those experts who know they need to work at a more strategic level are often frustrated because they can’t find the time.

4. Tunnel Vision

Many experts haven’t been provided with the necessary tools and knowledge to understand strategy and the external business environment. This lack of understanding makes it difficult for them to engage in strategic discussions meaningfully.

Experts often have a deep focus on their specialized areas, which can limit their ability to see the bigger picture and understand how their work fits into the organization’s overall goals.

The Organizational Impact of Ignoring Market Context

Failing to develop Market Context skills in your experts poses significant risks to your organization, including missed strategic opportunities, inefficient decision-making, and reduced innovation. This can lead to a disconnection from customer needs, reinforcing silos, and underutilizing your experts’ full potential.

To illustrate these risks, we have identified several key impacts of ignoring Market Context. Addressing these issues is crucial for leveraging your experts’ knowledge to drive strategic success and organizational growth.

1. Misunderstanding Roles and Responsibilities

Executives often mistakenly assume that strategic planning lies outside the remit of technical experts, which undermines the depth and nuance technical insights bring to strategy. This misconception leads to missed opportunities for innovation and improvement, as the unique value experts provide is overlooked.

2. Frustration and Disconnection from Customers

Experts, often distanced from customers by sales teams, are less able to offer their valuable insights into customer needs and pain points, crucial for effective strategy development. Direct customer interaction enables experts to tailor solutions that better meet client expectations.

3. Reinforcing Silos and Comfort Zones

Without strategic involvement, experts miss out on learning opportunities that develop broader business acumen which reinforces a spiral deeper into their silo. Siloed experts are less likely to contribute to innovative, cross-functional solutions.

4. Lack of Technical Insight in Strategy

Many of us have experienced the friction that can occur between sales and technical teams. Strategies designed without technical input may face execution issues due to unrealistic expectations or obstacles that could have been foreseen by experts. Furthermore, innovative ideas grounded in industry trends may be ignored without expert involvement.

5. Reduced Employee Engagement and Morale

Exclusion from strategic planning can lead to disengagement and higher turnover among talented staff. Executives may overlook emerging trends and risks known to experts, leading to flawed strategies, which is one of the biggest frustrations shared by experts. “I could have told you, if you asked me.”

6. Suboptimal Decision-Making

We all know now that a lack of diverse perspectives can lead to consensus-driven but flawed decisions and misaligned strategies can cause resource misallocation and disrupt operations. Experts have their own unique perspectives and ways of thinking that provide big-picture executives a different way of looking at the world.

So what can experts and their managers do?

1. Make emerging trends part of the role

An area subject matter experts can really add value to any organisation is by developing a regular routine of monitoring, researching and accessing emerging trends in their field of expertise and hypothesising how the organisation may need to respond to any potential threats or opportunities. Due to their expertise, they will identify and understand trends faster and more deeply than anyone else in the organisation, including the leadership team.

2. Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities

Strategic thinking is essential at all levels of an organisation. Experts can provide invaluable insights that inform and shape strategic decisions. Their deep understanding of their field allows them to foresee trends and innovations that can significantly impact the business.

Make strategic planning or partnering part of the job. Clearly define and communicate strategic roles for experts, creating formal roles or committees that include them in planning processes. Role clarity can significantly improve strategic involvement and decision-making. Time management and capacity will be an issue: It’s crucial to help experts manage their priorities better. Encouraging them to delegate, developing others, and providing tools for efficient time management can free up space for strategic planning – all topics in our Mastering Expertship program.

3. Engaging Experts with Customers

Facilitate direct interactions between experts and customers through cross-functional teams and regular feedback sessions. Customer engagement leads to more effective and innovative solutions. The highest-performing organisations are those that incorporate experts into teams responsible for sales and business development.

4. Breaking Down Silos

Promote cross-functional collaboration and identify cross-functional projects that may not necessarily be dependent on expertise but can provide wider awareness of the organisation. Such projects enhance communication and knowledge sharing while breaking down silos, that in turn, improves innovation and responsiveness among subject matter experts.

5. Providing Strategic Training and Development

Support the development of strategic capability among the expert cohort. This can be done via formal training but on-the-job development is just as effective through mentoring, coaching, working on enterprise-wide initiatives, and spending time on longer-term planning.

However, any training program needs to be tailored to speak the language of the experts. Using concrete examples and showing the practical implications of strategic thinking in their specific fields can make these concepts more accessible and relevant. Mastering Expertship is exactly one of those programs that are entirely focused on the world of the expert professional.

6. Promoting a Culture of Inclusion and Innovation

Foster an inclusive culture that values expert contributions and expert ways of thinking while also encouraging open dialogue. A number of formal studies have shown the direct link between inclusive cultures with higher innovation rates.

How Mastering Expertship Can Help

Mastering Expertship is our flagship development program and the only of its kind in the world. We offer subject matter experts from all disciplines (IT, finance, HR, marketing, science, engineering etc.) transformative tools that enable them to add value, stay longer, and fulfill their potential. For most participants, this program is the game changer.

The Expertship360 is our 360-feedback assessment specifically designed to help deep subject matter experts identify their strengths and potential areas of development to increase their impact and influence in their organisations. It is quick and easy to execute, and experts tell us it is career-changing.

You can read more of my articles and research at my Masters Out Loud.