Expertise in the workplace: The lifelong pursuit of eminence in professional practice

The central aim of the paper is to set forth the principles for achieving professional eminence in workplace settings by merging the literatures of psychology, adult learning, and neuroscience. In this manner, our paper is conceptual in nature, not experimental. The extant literatures highlight that the path to eminence in a domain is characterized by a combination of the ability to overcome adversity (i.e. resilience and grit), extensive and deliberate practice, psychosocial skill development, and an amount of innate talent. We first unpack each of these dimensions and expound upon their psychological and cognitive underpinnings. We explain the principles in the context of lifelong skill development in workplace settings. A key benefit of this paper is the consideration of and recommendations for human resource development and talent development professional practice. We conclude with implications for research.