You’re an expert. Everyone around you can see that you know your business and they go to you for advice. You have great ideas, can follow them up with action, and can even define the steps to get from start to finish. Should you step out and become a consultant?
Consulting starts with the client needing help, not us being experts. If we ever take our focus away from providing assistance, we’ve lost sight of our purpose. Fortunately or unfortunately, that means that no matter where our expertise is, we must be comfortable interacting, directing, and communicating with people.
If you’re comfortable with these three things you have a great future ahead of you. If you struggle with any one, then focus on improving, because it will always come out at each engagemment. We can’t hide from the client and still perform our work.
Yes, it is extremely important for us to know our subjects and to continually learn more. However, don’t ever make the assumption that your level of subject knowledge means you don’t need more knowledge of personal interaction.
Our reputation is built on other’s opinions of our work.

‘But we decide what is right, and what is an illusion.’