I recently found a group of people online that made me think: I finally found my tribe. These people actually get me. Whoa.
Not long ago, I started to hear and internalize the word ‘generalist’. Before that, I knew I liked meeting other Chiefs of Staff - a group of problem solvers with varied interests who are eager to jump into new things.
What I didn’t know is there is a budding movement to identify as a generalist and celebrate the traits that make us not-quite-fit-in most of the time.
New to generalists?
From Paul Genberg for Fobes. A generalist is a dabbler, an explorer, a learner — someone with broad knowledge across many topics and expertise in a few.
There are many ‘flavors’ of generalist. Some have expertise across several domains. Some have expertise in one and breadth across several. Some keep learning the next thing. My flavor is that I bring a core leadership skillset to anything I do, and add on new context around it with different functional or industry exposure.
How being a generalist helps me
Being a generalist means I’m not afraid to jump into new problems and be a beginner, because I never expect to have all the answers. This worked well in a corporate setting when I kept raising my hand to ask for new assignments in which I had no experience.
I did, at times, feel like a square peg trying to conform to a round hole as people around me specialized and advanced quickly because of it. But looking back I’m so thankful for these varied experiences because they gave me new perspectives.
Now, as a business owner it means I have a breadth of skills and the confidence to figure things out. In the past few months I have: learned how to do my own PR, built (and rebuilt!) websites, gotten pretty good at creating graphics, built an automated email sequence, researched sales tax laws, launched products, and set up a CRM system. I’m always willing to give things a first try, and then call in the experts or ask for help if I truly can’t figure it out.
What I wish the world knew about generalists
It’s not that we can’t decide on a focus area, it’s that we decide more frequently than other people. Just because something is the primary thing today doesn’t mean we are married to it forever.
An example of this difference in mindset came when I moved ‘home’ to Minneapolis a few years ago. My midwestern friends would ask me ‘oh, so you’re HERE now?’, meaning, you’re done with your travels and now you are settling down.
My response was: ‘I’m here NOW’ meaning: for the moment, I’m in this place. That doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever.
Therein lies one of the key mindsets for generalists. Be passionate about the now, and be open to changing it.
If this is ringing true to you, maybe you’re having that surprised there are more of us realization. Reach out and say hi! I’m always happy to meet fellow generalists.
And if you want to know more, I heartily recommend these generalist resources: Range by David Epstein (book celebrating generalists) and Generalist World, an amazing community curated by Milly Tamati.
