Since the days when Frederick Taylor proposed using Adam Smith’s division of labor concept to enhance productivity in the industrial sector, the unforeseen consequences have been profound: dwindling employee engagement and a spike in voluntary departures. Henry Ford’s early adoption of Taylor’s principles led to staggering employee turnover rates—by 1913, Ford’s operation, to maintain a workforce of 14,000, saw an influx of over 52,000 workers due to a 370% turnover rate.
It wasn’t until nearly a century later, inspired by Ricardo Semler’s groundbreaking “Maverick,” that a reevaluation of specialization’s place as the ultimate goal began. Semler’s vision in 1993 sparked a significant shift in my understanding of work organization, long before I even entered the business world, profoundly influencing my career path.
Taylorism’s shadow extended beyond production lines, permeating every corner of corporate culture. As a salesperson, I faced the rigid compartmentalization firsthand, struggling to bridge gaps between departments to fulfill unique customer needs—a task made impossible by a prevailing unwillingness to adapt, leading me to ignore customers with special requests.
This specialization created organizational fragments, with each sect developing its own worldview, often viewing other departments as competitors rather than collaborators. This mindset, though seemingly irrational, is a widespread reality, undermining productivity and innovation.
Through my studies for RoundMap®, the realization dawned on me: siloization not only hinders collaboration but also strangles creativity and innovation, potentially dooming companies to premature failure.
Peter Thiel points out a parallel in education, where students are pigeonholed into single disciplines, encouraged to become specialists while the exploration of multiple fields is discouraged. This educational model mirrors and perpetuates the corporate world’s demand for specialists over generalists, whose broad contributions defy simple quantification and optimization through traditional performance metrics.
This narrative not only charts the historical missteps of adhering too strictly to specialization but also calls for a reimagined approach to work, education, and innovation that values the intersection of disciplines, fostering a more collaborative, creative, and sustainable future.
Leading at the Crossroads: The Rising Imperative for Interdisciplinary Leadership and Collaboration
Harvard found that: “As innovation hinges more and more on interdisciplinary cooperation, digitalization transforms business at a breakneck pace, and globalization increasingly requires people to work across national borders, the demand for executives who can lead projects at interfaces keeps rising. Today the vast majority of innovation and business development opportunities lie in the interfaces between functions, offices, or organizations. In short, the integrated solutions that most customers want, but companies wrestle with developing require horizontal (i.e. cross-functional) collaboration.”
Balancing the Scale: The Essential Role of Generalists in the Digital Transformation Era
With the swift pace of digital transformation, there’s an increasing need for individuals who embody the spirit of generalists, polymaths, and those with multipotentiality. Unlike specialists, these are the visionaries who excel in weaving together insights across various domains, thanks to their extensive perspective and specialized knowledge.
Let’s be clear: the call isn’t to replace specialists with generalists wholesale. The essence of my message is that for businesses to not just survive but flourish in the digital era, incorporating a balanced mix of generalists is crucial. They are the key to unlocking value trapped within functional, cognitive, and data silos, propelling genuine forward momentum.
Introducing the Multipotentialist
I hope you’ll enjoy the following TED talk by Emilie Wapnick. Her story will help you understand the idea of destiny or the one true calling. The idea that we each have one great thing we are meant to do during our time on this earth and that you need to figure out what that thing is and devote your life to it isn’t standard. It just became the norm because we didn’t know any better.
