In everyone’s career there comes a time to make
a crucial choice. There is not judgment
on the choice. But once made, it is hard
to reverse. Mr. Joe Francis (1986, Metallurgy) who has spent time
at a major multi-national corporation deliberates on this choice.
Mr. Joe Francis (1986, Metallurgy) |
Introduction
What do I choose to become?
Which one would offer me more opportunity? Which one would pay me more?
Which one will help me grow faster?
When you start your first job
you may not ask all these questions as you may look for an association
with a well-regarded brand. You might be focused on a particular industry
or perhaps even a location.
However sooner or later you
will be faced with the question of whether you become a generalist in your
career or become a specialist. To understand these choices and the
implications we need to start from the definition.
My early
understanding of Generalists & Specialists
When I graduated as an engineer
in 1986 from PSG College of Technology, I did not know what a generalist meant
as I had not heard that word.
But I could imagine what a
specialist meant. For example doctors
who specialized in particular area, like ENT, Cardiology, Orthopedics etc. Patients sought the specialists when they
felt that their case was beyond the generalists or based on the generalists
advice.
It was much later in my
corporate career that I came across generalist and grew an appreciation for
generalists. My understanding was that a generalist is someone who has a wider
perspective, has varied experience and manages the whole business with multiple
functions and deliverables. I aspired to become one and ended up doing varied
roles and multiple functions.
Definition
Generalist
|
Specialist
|
Less competent
in more
|
More
competent in less
|
Knows less
of more
|
Knows
more of less
|
Less
skilled on more
|
More skilled
on less
|
More width
and less depth
|
More depth
with less width
|
Beyond the definition we make
many general associations with the generalist as well as the
specialist.
Generalist
-
Jack of all and master of none
-
Character that can fit anywhere
-
All-rounder
-
Competent in several fields
-
Can do anything
-
Overall in-charge
-
No defined role
-
Big Picture people
-
General Managers
-
Problem Solver
Specialist
-
Authority
-
Subject Matter Expert
-
Deep domain focus
-
Functional expertise
-
Little knowledge beyond their
specialization
-
Lack big picture
-
Works in a silo
-
Expensive
Value
This is where a world of
generalization and specialization differentiates! We pay relatively more for
specialty restaurants and specialty products. We ask people what
they specialize in. Hence in general a specialist has a
higher probability to have a higher perceived value. However
this is not universally true and would be different at different situations.
For example a start-up
company values generalists, simply because they cannot afford specialists.
When start-ups hire generalists they can
do more with less number of generalists as they double up in
other areas as well unlike specialists.
However, an established and
growing company would value and invest in more specialists. The generalists are less likely to be hassled
by uncertainties and they are of higher value at uncertain times and
situations. When you select a teacher
you may value a specialist but when it comes to a mentor you may value a
generalist.
Some
differences
Generalists solve problem at
hand - they look for solutions for the problems at hand and tackle
problems that involve specialties beyond theirs.
Specialists give
solutions at hand – they look for problems with the solution at
hand and tackle problems bounded by their specialty
Generalists are the ones who
can assume the role of a specialist that is needed for the situation.
Even a General Manager is a
specialist as he or she is a specialist in managing the overall business
involving multiple outcomes.
Reality
No one is a 100%
specialist since in reality one would always be a partial generalist.
In a corporate scenario as you
grow in your responsibility, the very responsibility may make you a
generalist as you are called to do more. Also that most people will
have secondary interests or would be forced to do beyond their
specialization and hence no one is a 100% specialist.
Similarly no one could remain a
100% generalist as you are expected do many things well and at least one thing
extraordinarily.
The perception of you will
always be relative to start with. You will be perceived as a specialist if what
is seen of you is higher than what they have in them. If you have relatively
higher knowledge on something you are credited to be a specialist.
The equation tilts when others
knowledge goes higher than yours or the environment are changed. Once
specialist will always be a specialist is not true! Let us say you are
specialized in selling to consumer. When the consumer buying
behavior changes and if you have not kept pace with your learning you
no longer will be a specialist.
What do
businesses need?
Being a specialist is how
one would be known, valued, hired, or promoted. Specialists do very well when the future
is known and predictable.
But the business world is
evolving so fast that the future is becoming more uncertain and
ambiguous. Hence future plans will no longer work for decades or even
years. Businesses want to plan for the future that is known and hence is
shrinking the definition of future itself. Soon the measure
of future would be in quarters or months since
any future plan may not work beyond that period.
Hence businesses still
need specialists but these specialists need to remain specialists by staying
relevant. That is possible only when one keeps learning and
become a specialist on more than one thing.
Specialists will continue to be
in demand. If one is a specialist in marketing to consumer he or she is more
likely to be hired by companies that have consumer-focused businesses. While
one is a specialist in marketing to consumer and
if you have also learnt enough about social media
marketing, selling online one would soon have become a specialist in
online sales and social media (where we would have started as a
generalist).
Potentially we
could now be hired by a Business-to-Business (B2B) company who wants
to leverage social media and online sales as they may perceive us as a
specialist.
It would be easy to become a
specialist in the area of adjacencies and many times it may become mandatory to
become a specialist in these adjacencies to remain a specialist in the core.
For example, when one is
selling to consumer, social media and online sales are mandatory to know. The
adjacencies that one is specialized in could become adjacencies or
even core for some others and that opens up opportunities.
Simply put keep yourself
updated, renewed and changed to stay specialist and add more specializations
to stay relevant, be valued, be recognized and remembered.
It is worthwhile remembering
the 80/20 rule.
Be 80% specialist and 20% generalist to have a
pipeline of future specialization. This will help you have a broad
view and also make you multi-dimensional.
Summary
In the final analysis, I feel
that it is not about choosing to be a generalist or a specialist. What is important is to do something in our
area of interest and earn enough to support the lifestyle that we are
comfortable with so that we enjoy what we do and that gives us the
opportunity to stay specialized in the general area of interest.
When we are in our area of
interest we will have the interest to learn more within that to stay
relevant and remain a specialist for the known future. Is it better to have one great
friend or many good friends? I would say it is best to have few
great friends but to keep many good friends as well. In the same way
specialization in more than one (with general knowledge on many) would
not let you down. My best advice is to consider oneself a generalist and
to learn continuously and become more of specialist over time.
About the author:
Joe Francis lives with his family in
Bangalore. He is a freelance Consultant
& Independent Director. He worked
for twenty seven years at multinational corporations before striking out on his
own. He was a hosteller at PSG College
of Technology and graduated with a degree in metallurgy.
This is so insightful Joe. Appreciate that you wrote about this. And I feel good being one 'generalist'. :)
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