Maps of Expertise

Maps of Expertise

Throughout this site we we use an analogy of acquiring a new expertise to making a long, complicated journey. The analogy makes the process simpler and helps you to remember the terms more easily. We start with how our travels have four increasingly complex phases:

  1. We first step out of our homes.

  2. We walk, drive, or use other forms of private transportation to reach public depots like airports, train stations, or ports.

  3. We use public transportation to get to our destinations.

  4. We rely on remote services to reach a place that is new to us.

We can plan each phase of a journey only after we have chosen a goal. The journey to a new goal with any domain of expertise has four phases. Each phase begins and ends with a different kind of choice.

  1. The first phase is when we step out of our comfort zone to Begin a new journey.

  2. The next phase involves making use of our private resources to Explore different routes to our goals. These attempts are easy to access but don’t hold our imagination or interest for long.

  3. We need support from others to reach the Sustaining phase of our journey. If we have a job, we are considered valuable collaborators with knowledge of some specialty where we work.

  4. Finally after years of collaborating with others, we return the help we received and become Masters who teach or mentor others.

This guide identifies the goals for each phase for many domains of expertise. Journeys for work are different from journeys for life. Others set the goals and have more control of our work domains while we create our own goals and have more control of our life domains.

Like the possible itineraries, there are numerous goals for each domain. This guide distinguishes the phases in nine goals for many domains of work and life.

Learn the Rewards of Expertise

The Meaning of Learning

  • Improve your mind

  • Have more fun every day

  • Keep work and life in balance

  • Become more secure

The Joy of Collaboration in life and work

  • Connect with people

  • Grow in your trade or profession

  • Enrich your relationships

  • Learn to make a difference