By Jane Morgan
August 14, 2025
A few years ago, I was coaching a next-generation leader tasked with rolling out a global enterprise change program. Originally from a technical background, “Mark” (not his real name) had built a solid reputation as the person who always had the answers. If a technical problem landed on his desk, he solved it. His “expert mode” was a key reason he was promoted into leadership in this tech-focused organisation.
Now, faced with a transformational change program, Mark was discovering that the formula he’d relied on for technical challenges wasn’t working when it came to changing human behaviour. He brought this frustration to one of our coaching sessions — and that’s when we began seriously talking about a different leadership identity. Not the “expert,” but the “explorer.”
It was a theme we’d touched on before, but at the time, he wasn’t ready to look at it.
The Trap of the Expert Leader
Being the expert works brilliantly in stable times and for purely technical challenges. You’re rewarded for decisiveness, mastery, and efficiency. But in leading change programs, it can become a liability, including:
- Missed opportunities because you’re protecting the old model
- Eroded trust when dissenting views are shut down “for efficiency”
- Burnout from trying to hold all the answers yourself
Most importantly, an expert identity can make you blind to what’s emerging—your gaze fixed on what’s already known. It can also mean you miss the wonder of discovery and possibility.
From Rescue to Recreational Diver
In my mid-twenties, while living in California, I took up scuba diving. The goal was to dive the famous Cayman Wall, starting at around 90 feet and dropping into the Cayman Trench.
But California waters were nothing like the luminous Caribbean with its 100-foot visibility. Diving off the Southern California coast meant 3–5 feet of visibility, colder water, strong currents, and kelp beds—conditions that demanded a different level of skill.
There, I learned to operate from an “expert” mindset — which, quite literally, can save your life. I’d seen people who had done resort courses in calm, tropical waters get into serious trouble in the more challenging California waters.
Under the guidance of our inspiring Marine Corps instructor Ron, our group progressed from Open Water to Advanced to Rescue Diver, building skill upon skill. Once I had mastered the technical “expert” skills, the “explorer” in me could finally emerge.
That experience taught me something crucial: the expert self is essential for safety and competence — but once those foundations are secure, there’s more.
Why Change Demands a New Identity
Explorers lead differently. They navigate with curiosity, not just answers. They treat ambiguity as part of the terrain, not a problem to be eliminated. They see leadership less as having the perfect solution, and more as creating the conditions for the best solution to emerge—often from the collective wisdom of the team.
For Mark, the shift didn’t mean discarding his expertise. It meant balancing it with curiosity. Sometimes he still needed to act quickly and decisively. But more often, his role was to slow down, listen closely, let others contribute, and allow solutions to evolve organically.
Helping Leaders Become Explorers
To shift from being a leader to an explorer, consider doing the following:
- Replace Judgment with Inquiry
Instead of “Here’s what we’ll do,” try, “What’s another way we could approach this?”
One leader I know starts every project meeting with: “What’s one thing we might be missing?” — a simple question that opens the door to richer perspectives and better solutions. - Model ‘Being in Learning Mode’ in Public
Saying “I don’t know” isn’t weakness — it’s permission. It tells your team it’s safe to explore and experiment. I once watched a CEO share a failed pilot project at an all-hands meeting, walking through what they learned and what they’d try next time. It didn’t dent her credibility; it amplified it. - Reframe Setbacks as Information
Explorers see detours not as disasters, but as map-making moments. One tech leader I know even keeps a “Learning Log” recording what went wrong alongside what went well — so the team sees iteration as progress, not failure. This mindset sits at the heart of what Simon Sinek calls the “infinite mindset” and Carol Dweck calls the “growth mindset.”
A Quick Self-Check
On a scale of 1–4, where 1 = low and 4 = very high, rate yourself:
- I ask more questions than I give answers.
- I’m comfortable admitting when I don’t know.
- I see setbacks as part of the process, not the end of it.
Mostly 1s and 2s? You may still be rooted in Expert mode. Mostly 3s and 4s? You’re already exploring.
Why This Shift Is Hard (and Worth It)
Letting go of expert mode can feel like losing authority or control. But the explorer earns a deeper kind of trust, when:
- Teams feel more engaged as they’re invited into the journey
- Innovation thrives when curiosity is valued over certainty
- Resilience grows when leaders model adaptability, not just competence
In a world where change is constant, adaptability isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s what gives us both a competitive edge and the ability to ride the waves of change. (I never mastered ocean surfing, by the way!)
Your Turn
This week, in one meeting, resist the urge to provide the answer. Ask the best question instead. Notice what shifts in the conversation, in the energy, in the ideas that emerge.
If you’d like to go deeper, join me for my upcoming IIL SummerFest session, Leading with a Change Mindset. We’ll explore the skills, and mindset shifts leaders need to thrive in a VUCA/BANI world: from cultivating adaptability and resilience, to leading teams through uncertainty, to inspiring a culture that embraces change.
Because sometimes, the best leaders aren’t the ones who know the way — they’re the ones willing to walk it with you.
#SummerFest #LeadingWithAChangeMindset #Leadershipcoaching
Jane Morgan is a Senior Consultant / Coach with IIL, CEO of Plan.Coach.Succeed Ltd. and a co-founder of the 8020 Excellerate™ leadership development program.
Her specialties include coaching and developing leaders at all levels of the organization; consulting on complex organisational change initiatives including enterprise agile PM rollouts, business transformation projects and merger/acquisition change programs. In her spare time, she’s an avid open-water swimmer, and increasingly curious about the link between preparing for endurance activities and agility in the business environment.
Visit Plan.Coach.Succeed Ltd. at www.plancoachsucceed.com
