Why do I feel threatened when someone knows more than me?

When someone knows more than you, you feel it as a challenge to your standing rather than a gift. That reflex is common in people who lead, and it is also expensive, because it turns your most useful resource, other people's knowledge, into something you push away. Notice what the threat feeling assumes, that your authority rests on being the most knowledgeable person in the room. It does not. Good leaders are rarely the smartest about everything. Their strength is knowing how to use the smart people around them. Someone's expertise is not competing with you, it is available to you. Try a small reframe in the next meeting. When someone knows more, say tell me more, out loud, and mean it. Treat their knowledge as yours to draw on. You will look more secure, not less, and you will make better decisions. Authority that needs to be the smartest is fragile. Authority that gathers the best minds is strong.