The Power of Generalists
Leveraging the power of combining the beginner's mind with the specialist's tools
“Find the one thing you’re good at, stick to it, and don’t stop until you’re the best/you’ve taken over the world.”
But what if that one lane doesn’t fit? What if you don't like it anymore, or you lose your job, or you need to move cities, or a better opportunity presents itself?
What if there's a better way? There has to be a decent alternative to a one-dimensional pursuit towards cookie-cutter goals. What if experimenting with divergent paths — contributing and learning from each one — what if that's the way to maximize your satisfaction, success and value?
For some of us it is.
I’ve worked in both worlds.
I built an academic career through to two postdocs. I was a "world expert" on the nanomechanics of the lamina splendens before I realized/accepted that I didn’t want the life I saw as a professor. So I reinvented my(career)self and pivoted to a program development and ecosystem building role that I grew to love. I'm not going to lie: the transition was hard. For the first year and a half or so I felt like a total imposter every damn day. I drank from the firehouse, learning as much as I could (largely in secret out of fear that others would see what an imposter I was), and with time I found my stride. I worked to gain clarity on how and where I could add the most value. I leaned into the transferable skills I had built in my past life as a researcher and educator. When projects allowed, I gave into my insatiable curiosity. In that role, I brought in >$Millions in funding to grow and build new programs. I helped launch dozens of university spin-offs and I worked with hundreds of academic innovators to bring their ideas and career plans to life.
I learned a little to a lot about a whole bunch of things.
Here are the Coles notes:
Unconventional career paths are massively undervalued.
Generalists are needed now more than ever to
Bridge gaps between theory and practice;
Make human connections across seemingly unrelated concepts;
Come up with holistic solutions to wicked problems.
Especially in the age of AI, which requires human intelligence to ask human questions
Generalists bring crucial context awareness;
Generalists tend to have broad life and work experience, which can mitigate inherent bias.
Generalists bring a potent combination of insightful strategy + pragmatism that helps make things happen for real.
A humble generalist is a powerhouse. Releasing the expectations of an expert allows one to approach problems with a beginner’s mind. And broad experience brings its own specialist’s set of tools. Combining these things give generalists a unique and valuable superpower: a synergistic ability to approach challenges with fresh curiosity while skilfully executing sophisticated solutions.
Cheers to the Generalists
Cheers to the translators, the integrators, and the problem-solvers who pull inspiration from unlikely places. I see you and the power of your curiosity and the insight and connections you make that no one else can see.