It's that time of year again - Spring is in the air, schools are winding down their academic year, and video clips of famous people giving commencement addresses are starting to appear on the television and Internet. One of my favorite commencement addresses was delivered by Peyton Manning, who was (at the time) quarterback of the Denver Broncos. Manning happens to be one of my favorite NFL players (from the days when he was quarterback of my hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts). Apparently his wife graduated from the University of Virginia, so he was more than happy to deliver the commencement address to the University of Virginia graduating class of 2014. As far as football players go, it is a really good speech. What I really liked about his speech was the following quote (oh, and the part where he threw three football passes during the speech to three surprised graduating seniors):
"The people in charge don't necessarily have all of the answers, so don't let expertise silence you. Work to find new solutions to old problems. Think outside the parameters that restrict other peoples' thoughts. Just because you're a novice on the job, just because you haven't faced the same challenges, just because you haven't climbed the same cliffs, doesn't mean you can't contribute to solutions in very significant ways. When you're chided for your naivety - and you will be - remind your critics that an amateur built an ark. Experts built the Titanic."
Great words and great advice! When you're chided for your naivety - and you will be - remind your critics that an amateur built an ark. Experts built the Titanic. Now I completely understand what Manning was trying to do here - he started out the speech with a comment about how these graduating seniors were going to be leaving the University of Virginia campus at the top of their class and become "rookies" again in the real world. He was trying to inspire them to be great in spite of that fact. He was trying to challenge them and encourage them to keep pushing to be the best that they could be, even if they were new to the job. In a way, Manning is pushing these graduating seniors to challenge the experts.
I find it ironic that here is someone who was known for being an expert - he studied game film and practiced over and over and over to become the best quarterback and leader on the team that he could be - and he was the best. TV announcers (and some NFL coaches) used to say that having Peyton Manning on the field was like having another head coach on the field - he was that smart about the game of football. What is important to remember is that Peyton Manning became a first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback not only through a lot of talent (no question), but also because he worked harder than anyone else on the team.
So how do you balance the need to encourage the so-called "rookies" while still respecting what the experts have to offer to the team? There is an interesting book out right now (I haven't read it yet) called "The Death of Expertise" by the author, Tom Nichols. That book explores how society has evolved over time to apparently value inexperience, and in some cases, ignorance over experience, expertise, and intellect. The public appears to have lost trust in authority. Nichols lays out the case that the surprising election of President Trump has, at least partially, been the result of this trend, where outsiders are valued more than insiders, amateurs are valued more than experts, and charisma is valued over intellect. All very interesting.
I still think there is something to be said for expertise and experience. I also think that an outsider's perspective, at times, can add significant value to the composition of any team. The trick, for leaders, is to balance these diverse perspectives and allow everyone to contribute. Everyone, amateurs and experts, rookies and veterans, and insiders and outsiders have something important to contribute to the team. Diversity of experience, just like diversity of opinion, prevents teams from getting bogged down or prone to things like "groupthink" or even the "Abilene paradox." As Manning stated in his commencement address, inexperienced members on the team will force the rest of the team to "think outside the parameters that restrict other peoples' thoughts." Just as importantly, experienced and expert members on the team bring a whole host of advantages to the team.
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