Thank you for writing us at the Community Tool Box with your important question. To be successful in community work, we believe one of the most important qualities for the community worker is credibility. The community members must be believe in and trust the community worker, and ideally do so on a personal level.
Given this, to have expertise and take on the role of “expert” can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, community members are often looking for expertise, and may themselves not know the best answers, which in many cases is why they contracted the community worker in the first place. On the other hand, if the community worker acts in a patronizing or condescending way, or if he or she does not show respect for the community members, the community worker is less likely to develop good relationships with the community members, and recommendations are less likely to be accepted. In addition, relying too much on an outsider’s expertise can prevent community members from developing their own solutions and taking responsibility for them.
In sum, expertise can have real value in community work. But a community worker who has expertise must be careful in displaying it, so as to best influence and empower the community members, and help them in developing their own solutions.
We hope these comments may be helpful to you. Thank you again for writing to us, and all best wishes for continued success in your work.
