Where did all the generalists go?
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn lately (and if you’re reading this, you have), you may be shocked at the number of people posting how they’ve been affected by layoffs, are open to work, or otherwise seeking employment. It’s especially true amongst people in the creative services business – account managers, strategists and, yes, creatives. Why is that? Here’s a theory (stolen from good friend, colleague and smart person, Melissa Spano):
Strategists have become too specialized.
Strategists have become too specialized. But, so have account managers who have become creative account managers, social account managers, digital account managers, growth marketing account managers, brand account managers, performance marketing account managers, influencer account managers and on and on and on. The same holds for creatives. Specialization – or, more specifically, the atomization of specialization - means that too many of us focus on too little, while too few err on the side of too much. Yet, clients find themselves in situations organizationally, competitively and functionally in need of generalists. What gives?
To some degree it’s the platform (or platforms) we’re all on. To some degree it’s the commoditization that’s taken hold in the industry. And to some degree it’s a generational shift towards expecting to achieve mastery far earlier in one’s career. Combine those together and you have an environment where everyone becomes narrowly defined whether they want to or not. The keywords in the recruiter’s algorithm won’t have it any other way.
When it comes to big challenges, clients need generalists.
And is that really what clients want? Do they want narrow experts? Some do, sure, for some things. But when it comes to meaty questions, big challengers or a need for real, broad ranging advice, they need generalists.
In the various times in my career when I’ve been tasked with constructing and building out a strategy practice, I’ve found myself drawn to people who aren’t specialists, aren’t even t-shaped. It’s the generalists, the ones who can think adjacently across disciplines, topics and questions, who I sought out time and time again. And yes, one look at my CV and you’ll quickly conclude that in the world of marketing services and consulting, I’ve been a bit all over the place. But, the conversations that I’ve been in, the businesses I’ve taken on as a consultant, and the opportunities I’ve had in my career have benefitted from not falling into the specialist trap.
Sure, there were times when I needed a deep specialist. They come in, do what’s needed, and then move one. And if they became full time staff, there was always the risk that they’d run out of runway. They were – to borrow from Alton Brown – “unitaskers”. My kitchen had no room for them.
Let’s embrace the curiousity, diversity and generalization that used to make this an industry of ideas, creativity and solutions.
Perhaps one way to move forward is to embrace the curiosity, diversity and generalization that for a long time made this industry of ideas, creativity and solutions so appealing to so many? Perhaps we ought strive to achieve broad skills over narrow, opaque challenges over clear, and greenfield opportunities over the predictable confines of a preplanned garden. Maybe if we applied ourselves to the pursuit of generalization, we’d all be a bit more valuable to employers, clients and peers.