In recent decades, there’s been a cultural push toward specialization across every industry. Long gone are the days of the “do it all” lawyer or doctor.
Even in relatively newer industries, like coaching, the expectations is to niche.
There are business coaches, life coaches, relationship coaches, parenting coaches, productivity coaches, spiritual coaches.
In the real estate industry, you might find agents who specialize in buyers or sellers, investors or renters, or in specific neighborhoods.
Even in production areas, there are niches. Cars are assembled using parts created at specific factories.
Even niches have niches. There are orthopedic surgeons who handle only knees and others who only look at hips. There are fitness coaches who only train clients for specific sports, and physical therapists who focus only on certain areas of the body.
Specialization is Ineffective
All of this is viewed as more efficient and effective. The theory is that it allows a practitioner to develop specialized mastery that will better serve their clients.
But this type of specialization is actually highly inefficient and ineffective. Whether you’re working with the body, a business issue, or a relationship issue, you’re still dealing with humans. The body is a system of systems. Life is comprised of multiple moving parts. A woman who has a spouse, children, and a job or business must deal with relationships, parenting, marketing, sales, and client service.
As much as we would like to draw bright lines, life doesn’t work that way.
Your life isn’t compartmentalized, so how we address issues that arise shouldn’t be compartmentalized either.
This is where generalists come in.
Generalists: Mastery of Multitudes
Generalists often have a reputation as being “jacks of all trades, master of none.” They are derogated as dabblers, flighty, and uncommitted to a path. The implication is that don’t have the willingness to commit to one path or capacity for the depth that specialization entails.
This characterization is not just unfair — it’s inaccurate.
A good generalist is a master in multitudes. They are observant, curious, and attentive. They are masters at cross-disciplinary communication — at speaking different “languages” and translating across seemingly disparate fields.
Generalists are like the bees that pollinate the flowers. Without them, there is no sweetness, no beauty, no honey. Just lots of people in silos working at cross-purposes.
Generalists often are the only ones who can see the patterns that get missed by specialists working in their dedicated silos. To be a generalist requires the ability to
- take in a lot of disperate information and synthesize it;
- learn and understand new topics quickly
- draw connections between different disciplines
- effectively communicate with different specialists in their own language
- get above the silos to see the patterns and appreciate the big picture
- go deep to see what’s happening beneath the surface that the specialists might be missing
To be a good generalist requires high sensory attunement, intuitive knowing, the ability to travel swiftly between different worlds, and the ability to speak multiple “languages” to communicate effectively to an array of specialists.
Without the big picture view, we can’t fully leverage the value that specialists can bring.
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