Generalists Vs Specialists Vs Jack of all Trades

Product Designer Vs UX Designer/ UX Researcher/ UI Designer etc

I have never been keen on the idea of a team of 'Generalists' while many organizations around the globe do justify the idea.

Research indicates that the success of generalists vs specialists may depend on the pace of change in your field. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to fostering creativity. With the wide acceptance of the design thinking process, there has been a greater focus on multi-discipline and collaborative teams.

“Most companies have lots of people with different skills. The problem is, when you bring people together to work on the same problem, if all they have are those individual skills-if they are I-shaped-it’s very hard for them to collaborate.” Tim Brown

In my opinion, the definition of Generalists in your organization plays the most important role in your growth as a designer. If you are expected to have DEPTH of knowledge in one arena and BREADTH of awareness of many others, then the idea of being a Generalist shapes your career path more holistically. Depth of skills indicates potential accountability. Whereas, the Breadth gives you a more flexible and collaborative approach.

Moreover, a 'Jack of all Trades' approach just dilutes your focus. It may make you lack the ability to think from a fresh perspective. It may give you a unilateral approach. You might have knowledge of many functions, however, your approach to practicing a function might not expand.

I can conclude by admitting that my idea of Generalists resembled more to the Jack of all Trades players. My professional past narrowed my understanding of being a Generalist. The demand for a Generalist has shaped its definition more and more clearly. The main demarcating factor between these two roles is - One can have experience of different functions but she/he need not be accountable for it.

To be a good designer who has creativity and credibility among non-designers, one needs to think like a generalist (strategise) and make (deliver) like a specialist.