Kristy Camarillo

Often times, when there’s a discussion about generalists, the words “bridge” or “translator” will pop-up.

A generalist is a person who is a competent jack of all trades, with lots of divergent useful skills and capabilities; A specialist is someone with distinct knowledge and skills related to a single area.

I think these roles point to something a bit broader: the need for more generalist, or at least outlier, roles in organizations.

Perhaps the most obvious of generalist characteristics is the connect-the-dots serendipity-searching that comes from linking disparate subjects together. Such cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural knitting is core to moving from incremental innovation to transcending ideation.

Many deciders, team leaders, or product managers will emphasize the importance of communication between teams, the great value of varied perspectives, and getting a mixed group of people around the table. They’ll praise team members for being the glue or the cement, the more fluid connectors between the “bricks” of specialists. But they usually... See more

Nothing can substitute for depth of analysis, and there's proven value in specialization – it's what education, career paths, scientific research, and technological innovation are built on – but generalism is a secret talent.

People who appreciate diversity, who are in the know about the wider world and who understand how things interact are... See more

Generalists have the advantage of interdisciplinary knowledge, which fosters creativity and a firmer understanding of how the world works. They have a better overall perspective and can generally perform second-order thinking in a wider range of situations than the specialist can.

In other words, lots of people see themselves as generalists, whether they use the word or not, and lots of people realize the value of these interstitial roles but not many brag about it, and not many hire for it.