# What is the value of specialism and generalism?
I work in the telco industry, where deep expertise is the norm. Folks have spent decades in the field (both literally & figuratively), and have earned the knowledge through hard yards (again both literally & figuratively). This deep expertise – or specialisation – is invaluable, when dealing with identifying the problems across the continent. The economics of the industry have driven a lot of the deep expertise out, presumably replaced by software or intelligent automation, but automation does not work well with previously unseen problems. The march of technology doesn’t mean that all insights, particularly tacit knowledge, is automated. This puts a high premium on the people with these skills, who are also heading towards the end of their careers, and lives.
Specialism isn’t all good either. Because the language and jargon is almost indecipherable, few of the non-technologists care to put in the effort required to understand it (not enough pay-off, too hard, squillions of reasons). The specialists tend to become siloed operators, rarely understanding the specialists in other fields & vice versa. There is a lack of common knowledge, or as my philosophy major colleague says “incommensurability”. Very quickly, it turns into a us-vs-them mentality, each viewing the other with skepticism.
I expect that generalists help bridge this gap to some extent. They are often given the titles of “general managers” with the authority seemingly vested in the title to connect various specialities. However, over the last decade or so, I’m noticing a trend of the GM’s actually being specialists with a formal generalist title. The silos get more entrenched. Communication & translation across domains is skill incredibly hard.
The few generalists I do see are worth their weight in gold. They make the boundaries between domains porous. They see overlaps between domains, and become the default translators. Specialists trust them enough to share some of their expertise, tacit and explicit, leading to better value creation. It is also very rare to find specialists in a highly technical industry, which is why I say they are worth their weight in gold.