Very often we come across discussions pertaining to merits
and demerits of being a specialist or a generalist. While specialist boast of
an in-depth understanding of a specific discipline, generalist bank on their
understanding and conceptualization of framework which holds all inter depend
modules together. Both spectrum of arguments make it zero sum game where its non-conducive
to have either brilliance in isolation or a well-conceived story with weak sub
plots.
If we observe the traits of a specialist what comes out distinctively
in their personality is their unrelenting focus. By virtue of definition, specialist
does not dabble in various departments which bring superior command and grip on
one particular subject of his pursuit. In contrast, generalist is your proverbial
jack of all trades who can hold on to conservation pertaining to all subjects
to the beginner level or may be to 201 notch. For an organization to succeed,
both these cogs need to run in cadence with less friction. In my short stint in technology services provider,
I have been a staunch generalist. I have been working closely with specialists
from various streams and while I have gained a decent understanding of the
output they produce, in-depth knowledge is clearly missing. However, with due
respect to specialist, I have come to recognize that what goes in the making of
a successful generalist is tremendous quantum of grit and gumption. While you are presented polished views of participating
silos you need to bring down veil of technology and practice differential to
create a unified appearance, consistent with corporate IT policies and
standards, establish clear communication channels and implement well defined
processes to ensure wheel of workflow runs smoothly without any spoke conflicting
with other. This knack is no easy task. In fact, this demands rapid learning
and unlearning of process playbook with reference to client’s context. In our increasing independent global business,
way to go about defining and implementing processes might vary across
geographies and industry domain. Domain knowledge and cross cultural intelligence
play major role in conditioning value proposition.
