If you enjoy using spices in your cooking you already understand it’s the way the spices combine that give your dish complexity. In isolation one spice doesn’t create a dish with the same magic or interest.
So to in your workplace you need a range of skills, talents and experiences to bring a rich flavour to the product or service you deliver to your customers. When you leave out an ingredient it shows. When you include a blend of ingredients it creates your competitive advantage.
In the same way different spices add to your recipe, so to do our workplaces need both specialists and generalists. The dictionary defines a generalist as ‘a person whose knowledge, aptitudes, and skills are applied to a field as a whole or to a variety of different fields (as opposed to a specialist)’. Too often the role of the specialist is highly regarded and the generalist not so much. The case for specialists is clear, there’s no disputing we need them. They’re valuable and serve a purpose when deep knowledge is required on specific topics.
However, in a culture so focused on specialists, everyone can be made to feel like they need to be one. Forcing someone whose inclination isn’t to specialise to do so, makes for a really bad fit. In the workplace, when people are required to be something they’re not, the incongruence tends to show up in lost productivity or disengaged people. You can’t be something you’re not just because it’s popular. So this is to clarify that we need generalists just as much as specialists. However, they serve a different role and that’s what needs to be understood.
So if you’re a generalist, or work with them, you might need a reminder of what you, or they, bring to the mix. It’s easy to forget or lose clarity in a specialist world.
There was a time when generalists were regarded
That time in history was called the Renaissance which occurred between the 14th to the 16th century. The pursuit of broad interests was admired and created fertile ground for the generalists to be their true selves. History now calls them Renaissance men and women. A less romantic name is ‘jack of all trades’, however that assumes no accumulation of any knowledge or skill that can be applied in any context. Philosopher Aristotle advocated the idea of a general education for its ability to form a more fully developed mind. In the same way today’s schools talk about developing the whole person.
Some high profile Renaissance types and their achievements:
- · Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 –1519) was an accomplished artist, engineer, an anatomy expert, mathematician, Inventor, and writer.
- · Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist.
- · Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790), a Founding Father of the United States, a polymath, author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
These men showcase what it really means to have a diverse or portfolio career and pretty impressive ones at that. These examples also remind us that over the course of a lifetime we can achieve and be many things. It’s not necessary to determine your career as a child and stick with one thing until your death.
What distinguishes a generalist?
Generalists are driven by their curiosity and desire to learn new things. The key word here is new. They have a real need to explore a variety of interests and being asked to make a choice is counter to what a generalist is designed to do. I write designed here because they are truly wired differently and this is on purpose. Remember, we can’t function in this world with only one type, be they specialists or some other category we want to assign to people. When generalists are placed in a box where they are required to do the same thing day after day, they can feel frustrated and this can show up as boredom and sometimes bad behaviour. Just ask any teacher why kids muck up in class. It’s frequently because they’re not engaged or stimulated. A child doesn’t have the ability to address this but as adults in the big world, we do.
Also, I’m using the term generalist very loosely here as there isn't just one type either. Just as we have specialists to cover different disciplines, generalists have different levels of engagement with the things that interest them. They don’t all stay at the surface of everything they do. Some go broad and deep on certain topics, developing a 'T-shaped' skillset instead.
What are the benefits of having them on your team?
- · They’re versatile, they love moving from project to project
- · They can pull disparate pieces of information together to decode or make something of them
- · They can play different roles, wear different hats as circumstances change
- · Have an ability to adapt to change, in fact they embrace it
- · Can quickly learn new skills to apply
- · They can go deeper in the areas where they have a particular interest although they don’t want to do any one thing forever
- · Inquisitive nature gives them an ability to explore, research and follow tangents
- · Bring a curiosity that leads to questioning conventional wisdom and is a catalyst for innovation
- · Can bridge conversations between specialists as they are more willing, as well as wanting, to look at the implications from all sides.
Best places for generalists to work
Generalists work well in start up entrepreneurial environments where many hats are needed and a variety jobs have to be done. Companies in the start up phase usually have a smaller team so the nature of the work is more varied.
Post start up, when the company grows and more people join, the roles tend to get more defined. This is specialist nirvana. Larger organisations can limit the generalist’s ability to explore different interests and will often want to squeeze them into a constrained organisational box. However, this isn’t always the case. Many large organisations are constantly in a state of flux, with restructures, mergers and acquisitions, and change management projects the order of the day. These uncertain environments offer plenty of potential for generalists to input to the change process and in the design of new roles.
Also, in this age more innovative companies are popping up that want to emulate the Google or Amazon way of working. These innovative workplaces without titles or tightly defined roles also provide opportunities for generalists. It’s up to the individual to do their homework on the organisation and understand how they would suit the particular environment.
Overall, generalists will rise to the occasion in any environment where there’s scope to move between different, even unrelated, tasks or in leadership roles where a broad outlook is necessary. Even if they don’t love every bit of work they might be involved in, they will be more satisfied if their broader perspective provides direction for achievements others can be involved in. Ultimately generalists need to work with specialists, like the left brain needs the right brain.
What sort of jobs suit a generalist?
Far from having few options, there are many areas that can appeal to generalists. What defines these jobs is that they require an ability to look across situations to make links, see themes and highlight ideas to share with others – the specialists namely. Tunnel vision doesn’t improve their ability to do their work. On the contrary.
Some areas where generalists can thrive:
- · Advertising
- · Artist
- · Chef
- · Coach
- · Consultants/advisors
- · Creator/designer
- · Detective
- · Developers
- · Entrepreneur
- · Film maker
- · Graphic or Interior design
- · Investigator
- · Journalist
- · Philosopher
- · Poet
- · Teacher/lecturer
- · Writer
Tips for managing a generalist
If you manage generalists or work with them it's worth knowing:
- · They can be easily distracted if they do anyone one thing for longer than they like – this will depend on the individual though
- · If they seem bored, they’re not being challenged so there's opportunity to stretch them
- · Don’t expect them to eventually turn into specialist experts even if they can do the work required
- · They might outgrow your company and you them. You might spot this before they do.
Tips for generalists managing themselves
1. Value the perspective you bring to the workplace. This means you need to understand your own value first. Don’t expect anyone else to appreciate what you offer until you understand this yourself. It’s perfectly fine to enlist some help and ask questions to uncover what you bring.
2. Don’t try to be a specialist when you’re not. There’s a high price to pay if you’re a generalist masquerading as a specialist. Guaranteed you’ll be pretty unhappy at some point. If you’re acting out a role that doesn’t represent who you are you might need to work out who you’re trying to please if it’s not you.
3. You are the sum of your experience, so weave your generalist skills together to create a greater whole. Your years of accumulated skills and interests are what you have to apply to your next venture. Remember, Steve Jobs was at the intersection of technology and the creative arts. What are your intersections and who can they benefit?
Final word
In his book Whole New Mind, author Daniel Pink says we are moving to an age of right brain thinking which encompasses holistic thinking, synthesis, intuition, estimation and emotional literacy. For generalists this could herald the start of a new Renaissance.
Renaissance or not, right or left brain leaning, our workplaces and society needs both sides of any coin and everything in between. In nature is this acutely evident. The ecosystem is designed in a way where everything is connected and when one aspect is missing, like bees for flowers, well that upsets everything. It puts life at risk. There’s always a purpose to we're wired differently and how we complement each other.
Spice up your team with a generalist or two.
* This article first appeared on LinkedIn.
