What your knowledge really gives you. (Part 8 of ‘3 of a Kind’).

If you’ve built your business around your expertise, it’s likely – from my experience of interviewing founders – that your work rewards you in two ways: your head and your heart:

First, there’s the satisfaction of applying the knowledge you’ve accumulated over the years: putting into practice the theory you’ve worked so hard to master. ?That’s what I call the ‘head’ bit.

Second, your knowledge gives you privileged access to other peoples’ lives and the chance to contribute to improving those lives. That’s the ‘heart’ bit.

There’s an obvious third reward: money. But money doesn’t figure much in conversations I have about ‘what drives you’. By contrast, the way in which your knowledge enables you to help other humans does crop up a lot.?

And that’s what I witnessed when I talked to the contributors to the latest in my ‘3 of a Kind’ series: Annabel Cole, Richard Bates and Jenny Walker. They’re Consultant Solicitors at Cognitive Law.? Annabel specialises in employment issues. When she explained what had originally drawn her to this profession, she summed up ‘the heart and the head’ very well:

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The context for ‘lifting that weight’ will vary. It could be an emergency intervention, when your life takes an unexpectedly nasty turn: redundancy, unfair dismissal or a sudden death in the family. ?Whatever it is – professional or personal – you need help right now.

Or it might be that you’re planning and want to (for example) manage long-term employee absence or set up power of attorney or get your will in order.

Either way – whether you’re having to react to events, or you decide to be proactive – the conversations around any of these topics can be tricky. You must trust that your solicitor (who could be a complete stranger) knows their stuff and is a decent person to deal with. ?

Jenny Walker specialises in later life. Her expertise spans subjects such as wills and trusts, as well as any disputes that break out after a friend or relative dies.

When she meets clients for the first time, she knows she might need to delve into their personal lives, to help them to make informed decisions. That means drawing on the ‘mix of skills’ Annabel mentioned; skills that go beyond the ‘purely legal’, such as active listening and communicating in a sensitive way, human to human:

Talking about family difficulties is… difficult. ??But it can be just as hard having a conversation that might reduce the risk of family rifts further down the line.

Richard Bates also specialises in later life law. Like Jenny and Annabel, he uses his non-legal skills to create a space where clients can broach topics they’d normally run away from:

Being part of a client’s journey is, I feel, a privilege. ?

Whatever your area of expertise – accountancy, coaching, tech, insurance, medical – it will give you access to the inner workings of your client’s life, or business, or both. And with that access comes a sense of responsibility.

You’re getting to know that person well.

If you care about your work (which I am sure you do!) you want to do the best by them, deploying your knowledge in the most effective way. ?But when your head is in service of your heart, it can put you under pressure. ?Annabel:

Yes, it can be emotionally draining when you care about what you do. But, as Richard points out, the collateral benefit of being a consultant is that you get to hear inspirational stories.?

Like Richard’s clients, many of the people Jenny works with are in their 70s and 80s, which makes their stories particularly rich:

Does that strike a chord??

Whatever your specialism, it not only gets the job done. It gives you the chance to make a genuine difference to the person on the receiving end of your expertise.??

It’s a privileged position that makes you want to punch the air.?

I think that’s a good place to end, don’t you?

What’s 3 of a Kind all about?

This article is part of my '3 of a Kind: same and different' series.? Each article focuses on 3 people who have something in common professionally and have different stories on how they’ve got to where they are and why their work matters.? It’s all too easy to assume that because you have the same qualifications as your colleagues or competitors, you’ll end up saying roughly the same thing on your About page or your blog.? But, actually, when you dig deeper, great differences will emerge. Not just in the examples you give, but in the way you describe them.

Your perspective can differentiate and position you, very powerfully.? ?

I’ve written the series because I want to help marketers and founders to unearth these stories for themselves, using interviewing techniques I’ve learned from live broadcasting.?

I call them ‘The Richest Conversations’ because they give you lots of marketing material in the space of a 15-minute conversation.?

If you’re new to interviewing, and want to try this approach for yourself – recording short chats on Zoom/Teams/Riverside FM – this article, on how to get great content from your colleagues, will help.

It suggests:

·?????? an easy topic to start with, so you and your interviewee feel comfortable

·?????? suggested questions to get the conversation going and

·?????? ways to unearth the stories that strike a chord with your audiences.

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I also regularly share tips here, on LinkedIn, on how to create content with real warmth from your chats.? You can connect with me here.

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Speak soon.

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And last, but not least…

A huge and heartfelt thank you to Annabel, Richard and Jenny for your time and contributions, and to Amy Pulling, Marketing Manager at Cognitive Law for making it all happen.

If you’re interested in reaching out to Annabel, Jenny or Richard, click on these links:

Annabel Cole on LinkedIn and at Cognitive Law.

Jenny Walker on LinkedIn and at Cognitive Law

Richard Bates on LinkedIn and at Cognitive Law

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