The Power of Generalists: Thriving in the Modern Workplace
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
A client recently shared her frustration that as a generalist she felt she was being overlooked and that she was in danger of not being able to move her career in an upwards trajectory. Specifically, she said to me:
How can I articulate the value of the generalist and plot an upward path? It seems generalists don't move "up", their span of exposure and responsibility just gets wider.
The question was one I was keen to answer because it reflected a very different lived experience to my own. My perspective is that being a generalist is actually a good thing and an asset in one's armoury! Knowing how to use that asset is the key!
While specialists have deep expertise in a specific area, generalists possess a broad range of skills and knowledge across various fields. Contrary to my client's belief that only specialists move upwards in their careers, generalists can also thrive and achieve significant success.
This blog explores the benefits of being a generalist, why developing generalist skills is crucial for career growth and some thoughts on how to be a competent generalist based on some of the lessons I have learned in my career.
The value of being a generalist
Generalists tend to have greater visibility of what goes on in a business by virtue of their broad range of knowledge and skills and as a result they tend to have a comprehensive understanding of different aspects of the business from marketing and finance to operations and human resources and have the capacity to speak the “language” of multiple disciplines.
The way I like to explain the role of a generalist to my coaching clients is like this:
Generalists are the conductors of the orchestra – they understand the music (the goals of the organisation), they know how all the instruments work(they have visibility and relationships across all departments), what they should sound like (what the specialists do) and how to get the best out of each musician (how to engage best with them) but they don’t have expertise in actually playing all the instruments and they don’t need to. The individual musicians (specialists) may play beautiful music (they may be technically brilliant at what they do individually), but as a collective they probably won’t all play in tune without the conductor. Orchestras need conductors and conductors need orchestras. Neither can thrive without the other.
Generalist tends to be adept at working across multiple departments and teams which enables them to build cross-functional relationships, work with colleagues vertically, horizontally and diagonally meaning that they have exposure to a broader range of decision makers and can build relationships via formal communication channels as well as through informal channels and their cross-functional interactions gives them insight into how different departments operate and interface with each other. Understanding the impact that each department and each role-player has on each other gives the generalist a distinct advantage in understanding how to be relevant across the business as well as who to be strategically relevant to.
Generalists tend to thrive in leadership roles as most leadership positions ultimately require a broad understanding of the entire business and can integrate diverse perspectives, connect the dots across various functions and consider multiple perspectives when it comes to decision making.
That broad visibility and knowledge tends to give generalists an advantage when it comes to identifying trends, patterns and potential issues that may not be apparent to specialists who have much deeper knowledge and interests in a single area of focus. This holistic view can be crucial for strategic decision making.
But probably the greatest value of a generalist is their ability to adapt quickly to new roles and responsibilities. Generalists are less likely to be affected by industry-specific downturns. Their diverse skill set allows them to transition smoothly into new roles or industries, ensuring long-term career stability. This versatility makes generalists relevant in a variety of contexts and with very little lead time required to become productive in a new role.
There is one distinct downside to being a generalist, and it’s that generalists can be easily replaced by other generalists. The same cannot be so easily said for specialists – but this doesn’t mean that being a specialist is the solution.
T-shaped and V-shaped employees
In 1991 David Guest introduced the concept of T-shaped employees (the hybrid between generalists and specialists). Essentially T-shaped employees have depth of knowledge and experience in a specific system and specialist discipline (the vertical bar of the T) and shallow knowledge and experience in a broad range of boundary crossing systems and disciplines (the horizontal bar of the T).
To do one's own work you need the vertical bar (deep specialisation), but to successfully collaborate and communicate with others you need boundary crossing breadth of knowledge and experience in a wide range of disciplines.
The drawback of a T-shaped employee is that while they are skilled in communicating and collaborating with others, they don't have versatility to shift out of their core specialisation if the context requires them to do so. And this is where the concept of a V-shaped employee, the truly versatile generalist, developed.
Employees with V-shaped knowledge and experience are those with deep expertise in one area, broad knowledge across multiple areas, and medium-depth knowledge in adjacent areas - in other words depth of experience in a specialist area and sufficient knowledge and experience in areas adjacent to their core area, that they can adapt and remain relevant as requirements change.
They don't have to be specialists in everything, but being sufficiently skilled in a broad range of adjacent skills gives the V-shaped employee the ability to adapt quickly as well as take a transdisciplinary approach to problem solving. To be effective in organisations and contexts which are rapidly changing, in other words our current world of work, versatility and agility that comes from having breadth and depth of adjacent skills makes someone valuable not just to themselves in their careers, but valuable to organisations that need employees to shift roles quickly as needs change.
Career trajectories: Specialists vs. generalists
I'm a generalist by nature. I love being part of the bigger picture, integrating information across numerous disciplines. My 'shiny object' brain thrives on the diversity that characterizes my career. But I've often looked at specialists and wished I had their deep specialist experience, and the perceived credibility that comes with it.
However, my generalist career and the breadth of exposure I've had to different contexts, people, working conditions, levels of responsibility and ways of working, has set me up for success and helped me get to Partner level in an international natural resources consultancy and ultimately set up my own coaching business which has been running successfully since 2017.
We often assume the only way to go in our careers, is up. This is generally true for specialists who hone their specialisation over their course of their careers in a single trajectory from junior, to senior, to head of department. When their subject matter expertise becomes obsolete, specialists have a much harder time pivoting into new careers - Covid19 showed us that in no uncertain terms with numerous professions becoming obsolete overnight.
A Newsweek article about how Covid made some skills obsolete includes this quote from a technology executive in the manufacturing industry, which to me says it all about needing to have a breadth of skills to remain relevant in changing times
"My entire skill set is rooted in the ability to adapt to changing business conditions.... Relying on one, fixed skill set is not practical."
Generalists on the other hand, gather overlapping experiences and knowledge that help them connect the dots, develop deep insights into trends and risks, spot opportunities that specialists might not have sight of, contribute to the business holistically and integrating their experience and capabilities as they go.
While their career trajectory may appear less direct than that of a specialist, their careers are arguably more resilient by virtue of being able to adapt and shift into different roles if market conditions change and bringing wide ranging experience that makes them valuable to many organisations.
The point is that there is no one-right way to move upwards in your career but there is a clear argument to develop a wider range of skills to help you:
Navigate Uncertainty In an unpredictable job market, having a diverse skill set can be a significant advantage. Generalists are better equipped to handle uncertainty and adapt to new challenges.
Enhance Collaboration Generalists can effectively communicate and collaborate with specialists from different fields. This ability to bridge gaps and foster teamwork is crucial in today's collaborative work environments
Continuous Learning Being a generalist encourages a mindset of continuous learning and curiosity. This lifelong learning approach keeps individuals relevant and competitive in their careers
Some of the essential generalist skills to develop include:
Communication Skills Effective communication is key for generalists to articulate ideas clearly and collaborate with diverse teams
Project Management Generalists often juggle multiple responsibilities. Strong project management skills help them stay organized and deliver results efficiently
Data Analysis Understanding and interpreting data is crucial in making informed decisions. Generalists should develop skills in data analysis tools.
Digital Literacy Proficiency in digital tools and platforms, such as CRM systems and project management software, is essential for generalists to stay productive and efficient
Critical Thinking Generalists need to analyze complex problems and develop strategic solutions. Critical thinking skills are vital for navigating diverse challenges.
AI Skills. AI has rapidly become applicable across every professional discipline and being able to harness the use of AI in data analysis, pattern identification, problem solving, automation, innovation and creativity is an essential generalist skill in staying relevant, adaptable and future proof in a rapidly evolving world of work.
Leveraging Your Value as a Generalist
To truly leverage your value as a generalist I believe there are a number of things worth keeping in mind to ensure that as a generalist you take ownership of the direction in which you want your career to grow.
Caution: Be a generalist not a people pleaser
Competent generalists get asked to do more and more. But honestly this applies to anyone who demonstrates competence and a willingness to get involved beyond the confines of “their job”. The rule of thumb for most managers (it's not necessarily a good rule of thumb), is that the better someone is at doing their job, the more they can be trusted to take on more work. In effect, competent staff tend to get overloaded, and the competent generalists can get spread across more and more areas of the business.
This was my experience early in my career and it stood me in good stead as the exposure that I got helped to catapult my career and my visibility in my professional network. The downside was that as a people-pleaser the more I said yes to work, the more I said no to my personal life.
My advice is be strategic in what you get involved in, have clear reasons for the different experiences that you are gathering, be explicit to yourself and others what the overlaps are and how each overlap builds nuanced experience and insights and ultimately value.
Learning to choose what you say yes to, can be the difference between being a generalist who gets asked to do everything (and makes herself indispensable where she is), and a generalist who gets to strategically pick her stretch assignments and move upwards.
When you say yes to others, make sure you aren't saying no to yourself. - Paul Coehlo
In my experience the onus is on you to put boundaries in place to protect yourself and manage expectations. There is a big difference between saying "yes" to everything, and saying "yes I can take that on, and I will deprioritise all this other work to ensure I deliver on time for this task!"
If you struggle with prioritising tasks, much like many of our clients at The Briony Liber Coaching Group, I encourage you to explore coaching as a way to develop these skills.
Your words matter
There's a huge difference between introducing yourself as "a jill of all trades" (which let's be honest undermines your value almost immediately) and saying "as a generalist I have overlapping experience and am able to develop and leverage insights from the interconnectedness of the broad range of work that I have done".
Translating your overlapping experience into insights that are of value to your colleagues, your clients, your stakeholders can create visible value that positions you as the person that people need to know, the person that people can come to for thought leadership, the person that is ready to take the next step in their career.
Advocate for yourself
Lack of career progress may have nothing to do with being a generalist - it may be an issue of not advocating for yourself. I often hear generalists say that they don't believe they are progressing as fast as specialists - but my observations (and my personal experience) is that it's less about the rate at which specialists progress and more about how generalists struggle to advocate for themselves.
No matter who you are, advocating for yourself is a crucial career skill. In an ideal world our bosses would know exactly what we have achieved but the reality is that they tend to have their focus split across many reports and responsibilities and don't remember everything you have contributed or just don't have the interest (sadly).
Advocating for yourself starts with knowing your strengths and the value of your strengths to achieving the business goals. So, get clear on your strengths and then make sure you understand what the business goals actually are.
Secondly, self-advocacy is also about earning a reputation of being competent - telling your boss how you are contributing to the business achieving their goals is a start, but making sure your boss sees your contributions through visible action adds dimension to your advocacy.
Embrace your generalist superpower
Being a generalist is not a limitation but a powerful asset in today's ever-changing professional landscape. The ability to adapt, integrate diverse experiences, and provide holistic insights makes generalists invaluable to any organization.
By recognizing and leveraging your unique strengths, advocating for yourself, and strategically choosing your engagements, you can carve out a successful and fulfilling career path. Remember, the world needs both specialists and generalists, and your broad skill set is a key component of a resilient and dynamic workforce.
Have you embraced your role as a generalist?
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