The doctor says it more nicely, but the gist of his response to my symptoms is “That’s not my problem.”
As in, not in his area of expertise.
Does he believe I’m having the symptoms?
Certainly.
Does he think it’s worthy of further tests.
Absolutely.
Is he the person to run those tests?
Absolutely not.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because it’s liberating to be clear about the limits of your expertise.
Of what you do.
And what you don’t do.
And let’s take it a step further.
Because my doctor doesn’t abandon me.
Even though it’s out of his expertise
He still helps by referring me to another specialist.
Yes, doctors have clear specialties.
They are comfortable dealing with what they know.
And equally comfortable sending you off to someone else who knows better.
“I don’t know anything about your toes, but Dr. Balance does.”
“I can’t fix your back, but you should talk to Dr. Stand.”
It’s easy for them to figure out who you should talk to next.
And it’s an important skill of the Trusted Advisor.
Clearly knowing your expertise,
And knowing other people you can rely on to take care of everything else.
You become more of an expert when you say:
“That’s a great question. I don’t know how to answer it, but let me introduce you to Fred. He’s the expert on that.”
So here’s the question.
Where does your expertise end.
And who in your Trusted Advisor Community takes over from there…