What I Learned from Teaching People Smarter Than Me

Mastery isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about knowing how to stay in the room when you don’t.

They call me “professor.”

Sometimes, with respect.

Sometimes, with sarcasm.

Sometimes, both in the same sentence.

I’ve taught architects how to build.

Builders how to design.

Young professionals how to navigate this wild, wobbly industry with their dignity—and curiosity—intact.

But here’s the truth I’ve learned over 30 years of leading:

The best teachers are the best students.

And the smartest rooms are the ones where no one pretends to know it all.

I’ve been in rooms where people had more credentials than me. More field experience. More technical depth. And early on, that used to shake me. I'd wonder, What am I doing here?

Why are they listening to me?

But then I noticed something.

My real value wasn’t in what I knew.

It was in how I held the room.

The questions I asked.

The clarity I brought.

The systems I revealed that others had been using instinctively—but never articulated.

That’s the paradox of mastery:

It’s not about having the answers. It’s about building the frame so others can find their own.

I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room.

I just need to be the one who keeps the room honest.

When people get lost in complexity, I draw the map.

When egos flare, I return us to the work.

When nobody wants to look foolish, I go first.

Because that’s the job, Whether you’re leading a job site, a classroom, or a company.

I’ve taught engineers who could out-calculate me.

Tradespeople who could outbuild me. Young architects who could out-CAD me with one hand behind their back.

But I never felt diminished by it.

I felt responsible—to serve them better.

To create space for their brilliance while bringing my own to the table.

That’s what a real teacher does.

That’s what a master builder does.

That’s what a Field Philosopher does.

Field Note:

You don’t need to be the expert. You must be present, prepared, and brave enough to say: “Let’s figure it out together.”