The Generalist
A generalist is a great asset to have at a company. It's a person with many diverse talents that can easily put out all of those fires that seem to spring up all. of. the. time. It doesn't matter how big or small the fire is, the generalist is always there to save the day. It's like having a utility infielder in baseball. While I highly recommend hiring a generalist at any early start-up, it's also important to consider what the utility infielder is not.
A generalist isn't a specialist in any particular area. If you had to call them an "expert" at something, it would have to be adaptability. It's definitely a great asset to have, but it doesn't work in a few situations:
- when they get spread too thin, tackling too many projects
- when they get tired or feel burnt out
- when you're placing them on a deep dive project
Spread too thin
This one isn't always the easiest to spot. As a manager, you might think: "The generalist can handle a lot, so I'll keep piling on work." It's not your fault if you pile on too much work though because the generalist is typically pretty good at balancing many projects at once while making it look easy. They don't typically complain and are eager to take on more and try new things.
However, it's not always wise to pile on the work. The generalist thrives while working on many projects, but they have to complete them within a short time. Moving quickly between projects is key because it gives a sense of accomplishment, which usually stems from learning new skills.
Another way to tackle generalists' wandering minds and far-reaching talents is by teaching them to multi-task effectively. This usually means balancing many projects at once, except having them cycle through the projects so that they aren't spending too much time on any one project for too long while still meeting deadlines.
Burnt out
When anyone is burnt out on the job, it's pretty obvious. Productivity nose dives and the once great generalist becomes a mess. Maybe they lose interest in projects, or worse, the company. It's important to keep a generalist's morale up so that they can maintain a high level of productivity and engagement on the job.
If it looks like a generalist is burning out, make sure you force her into a much needed rest. Make sure they have a good work-life balance. These are important or else the generalist will keep going until very jaded, which is not only unproductive, but also destructive.
Deep dive projects
Be careful when assigning a new project to a generalist. A deep dive project is either one that requires a certain level of expertise that is well outside the capabilities of a generalist, or (similarly) a project that requires so much research that the generalist starts to become an expert.
In the first scenario, you'll actually want to hire an expert, a consultant, or an agency to do the deep dive. An example might be running the day-to-day activities for a PPC campaign on a marketing team. A better role is a strategy position. It's important to remember that while a generalist could do a deep dive, it's not the most effective use of the generalist's time from a manager's perspective.
You also don't want the generalist to get so entrenched in one role that they become an expert in a particular role. Instead have the generalist be the pioneer for a role you're considering creating because the generalist is somewhat like a canary in a coal mine. If you aren't quite sure what goals you want the new position to accomplish, the generalist can try it on for size and work with you to decide what skills, knowledge, etc. are needed for the role.