The generalist advantage

Leonardo Da Vinci, curiosity, and why mastering one skill isn't enough.

There are really two ways to make yourself valuable in today’s world.

The first is to become a specialist. This is where you develop knowledge or skills in a particular field. Think Lebron James or Michael Phelps. Or doctors who specialize in one specific part of the body, like a cardiologist or a dermatologist.

Specialists typically pursue one field or path for their entire career and the only way to rise to the top is through intense practice and dedication.

You’ve probably heard of the 10,000 hour rule which Malcolm Gladwell popularized in his book Outliers. According to this theory, you would need to apply about 3 hours a day for almost 10 years in order to reach mastery.

So if you want to be in the top 1% of anything, you basically have to dedicate a large chunk of your life to that pursuit.

Surely the world needs specialists for a number of reasons. And there’s nothing wrong with dedicating yourself to one industry or profession for your entire life, but I believe the other option leads to more possibilities and doesn’t require as much intense practice or dedication.

That second option is to become a generalist.

Over the years, people have come up with a number of different ways to frame it: Polymaths, Multi-Hyphenates, Multi-Path Career, the Talent Stack, the Skill Stack, the list goes on…

Simply put, it’s when you are skilled in multiple fields and can use insights from one area to help solve problems in a different area.

Curiosity is key

This concept of being a generalist is nothing new. Galileo was born in 1564 and is credited with being a philosopher, astronomer, and a mathematician.

Leonardo Da Vinci is another great example. After reading his biography, I was amazed by the number of accomplishments he achieved in his lifetime.

During Leonardo’s time, polymathy became part of the idea of the ‘perfected man’. This is where the term Renaissance Man originated from.

“Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses. Especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” - Leonardo Da Vinci

In his notebooks, he scribbled down things like:

Describe the tongue of the woodpecker. Why do people yawn? Why is the sky blue?

The common theme you see from the most famous polymaths is that they are all driven by this sense of unwavering curiosity. So if you want to be a modern-day Renaissance Man (or Renaissance Woman) then I urge you to follow your natural curiosities and see where it leads you.

Cross-Disciplinary Insights

Why do you think Mona Lisa’s smile is the most famous smile in the world?

It’s not only because Leonardo was a world-class painter, but because he was also obsessed with human anatomy.

“At the time when he was perfecting Lisa’s smile, Leonardo was spending his nights in the depths of the morgue under the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, peeling the flesh off cadavers and exposing the muscles and nerves underneath. He became fascinated about how a smile begins to form and instructed himself to analyze every possible movement of each part of the face and determine the origin of every nerve that controls each facial muscle. Tracing which of those nerves are cranial and which are spinal may not have been necessary for painting a smile, but Leonardo needed to know.”

Let's say you're a graphic designer who knows a thing or two about coding. You could use your coding skills to create interactive designs that not only look great but also function flawlessly.

Or, let's say you're a marketer who also has a background in psychology. You could use your knowledge of human behavior to create more effective marketing campaigns.

The possibilities are endless when you start to cross-pollinate across different fields.

If you're focused on just one thing, it's easy to get tunnel vision and lose sight of how your work fits into the larger context.

When you have a broad range of skills and knowledge, you're able to make connections between different areas and understand how they all fit together, just as in the case of Leonardo while painting Mona Lisa’s smile.

Career Opportunities

Aside from painting, Leonardo served as a military engineer for 17 years because he believed he could get better pay doing that.

Since he had such a diverse set of skills, he was able to turn down projects that he didn’t want to do because he always had other work opportunities.

This is another great benefit of being a generalist. You can transition more easily between fields and industries which gives you a broader skill set.

Specialists on the other hand are vulnerable to change. Many specialist jobs are disappearing as technology changes. Add to the fact that technology is evolving exponentially and industries are constantly struggling to keep up.

If you're a specialist in a particular field, there's always the risk that your skills will become outdated or obsolete. Robots and AI are already replacing many jobs and this is only going to accelerate in the coming years.

By being a generalist, you have a much broader skill set that can be applied to a variety of roles and industries. This makes you much more resilient and adaptable in the job market.

Instead of being pigeonholed into one specific role or industry, you have the flexibility to explore different areas and find what works best for you.

Employers also love generalists because we bring a unique perspective to the table. Many times we’re able to see the big picture and make connections that others might miss.

I often think about my switch from engineering to online marketing.

People are always curious as to why I made this transition. It seems counterintuitive that I spent 7 years studying something that is no longer part of my job title. My particular field was Industrial Engineering which is a fancy way of saying “efficiency”.

It’s about figuring out how to save time & money which is a fairly broad skill that can be applied to many areas. So even though I’m no longer working in the field of engineering, I still apply the thought process to everything I do in both my work and my day-to-day life.

My diverse set of skills has helped me land opportunities in a number of different companies and organizations which is one of the reasons I’m so pro-generalist.

Final Thoughts

Surely some of you might be thinking, "Wait Bri, won't being a generalist make me a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none?"

It's a valid concern, but the truth is that being a generalist doesn't mean you can't be an expert in certain areas.

I’m working on another piece where I want to discuss some of the “eternal skills” that are fundamental and can be applied to almost any job or role. These are the types of skills you’re going to want to focus on.

The key is to find a balance between breadth and depth of these eternal skills sprinkled in with some obscure skills.

Marcel Proust said it best in his famous quote: “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.”

I believe the easiest way to see with new eyes is by expanding your knowledge base and diversifying your skill set.

Even if you’ve already committed to the specialist route, I encourage you to take an online course on something that sparks your interest. Attend a conference or workshop on something you know nothing about.

Eventually, you’ll make connections that you never would have seen otherwise.

Until next time my friends.

<3 B

When in doubt, just keep smiling.