I read… a lot.
One to two books a week.

Sure, one is usually a fantasy or sci-fi escape, but the rest? 

They’re what most people would call useful. Business, psychology, history, biographies… all the stuff that helps me run companies better.

My team knows this. At our in-person events, if I’m not in a meeting or a conversation, you’ll find me with a book in my hand. 

It’s not a habit I picked up to look smart… I’ve done it my whole life. I read because leaders can’t afford to stop learning.

Recently, one of my division heads came up to me and asked what books I’d read on curriculum design and education. They wanted to read them too so they could “become an expert.”

My answer caught them off guard.

I told them: reading books on something doesn’t make you an expert.

Here’s why. Being an expert means more than having knowledge… it means having applied that knowledge in real situations, over and over, until you’ve experienced the successes, the failures, and the gray areas in between. 

Books can give you the map, but they can’t give you the miles on the road.

I read books on curriculum design so I can have informed conversations with our heads of product. So I can understand the trade-offs they face, ask the right questions, and make the right strategic calls. 

But I don’t read them with the goal of becoming the curriculum expert in the company. That’s their job. My job is to lead them… to connect dots, allocate resources, and remove roadblocks so they can excel.

It’s a shift in mindset that a lot of people struggle with when they move from specialist roles into leadership. 

As a specialist, your value comes from being the expert. As a leader, your value comes from creating the conditions where experts can do their best work.

He looked a little disappointed, and I get it. 

There’s something comforting about thinking you can “read your way” into expertise. But the truth is, leadership isn’t about knowing more than everyone else… it’s about knowing enough to trust the right people, ask the right questions, and make the right calls.So I’m curious… when it comes to your own growth, do you focus more on becoming an expert in something, or becoming the leader who guides the experts?