I am in a community called Generalist World. It’s been a boon for my professional confidence and self-understanding. Would recommend it to folks who resonate with this post!
Thanks for that great article. It made me feel hopeful and I recognized myself in many passages. On the subject, in case it could be of any use to anyone, the wonderful Barbara Sher (now passed away, R.I.P.) devoted her life to help the multihyphenate as you name them (love that!), multipotentials and renaissance people of modern times (she called them Scanners) to make a coherent whole of their multiple interests and passions. She also did it in a somewhat unfashionable and anti-coaching kind of way, especially in the light of today's "standards" so to speak, which IMO made her even more awesome. There's also the wonderful book “The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One” by Margaret Lobenstine that aims at the same goal, which I would highly recommend to any generalist/multihyphenate that wishes to understand themselves better and make the most out of their eclectic and original identities. <3
I think it has always been true that a small team of mixed soft specialty generalists can work better together and go more places than a team of strict specialists. And I say that with loads of bias since I self describe as a generalist and all of my best work experiences have been with “dabblers”. It kind of boils down to curiosity. If you are curious enough about the skills and roles around you you end up asking better questions as a baseline.
Oh wow my ADHD may finally pay off!
I am in a community called Generalist World. It’s been a boon for my professional confidence and self-understanding. Would recommend it to folks who resonate with this post!
Thanks for that great article. It made me feel hopeful and I recognized myself in many passages. On the subject, in case it could be of any use to anyone, the wonderful Barbara Sher (now passed away, R.I.P.) devoted her life to help the multihyphenate as you name them (love that!), multipotentials and renaissance people of modern times (she called them Scanners) to make a coherent whole of their multiple interests and passions. She also did it in a somewhat unfashionable and anti-coaching kind of way, especially in the light of today's "standards" so to speak, which IMO made her even more awesome. There's also the wonderful book “The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One” by Margaret Lobenstine that aims at the same goal, which I would highly recommend to any generalist/multihyphenate that wishes to understand themselves better and make the most out of their eclectic and original identities. <3
I think it has always been true that a small team of mixed soft specialty generalists can work better together and go more places than a team of strict specialists. And I say that with loads of bias since I self describe as a generalist and all of my best work experiences have been with “dabblers”. It kind of boils down to curiosity. If you are curious enough about the skills and roles around you you end up asking better questions as a baseline.
So much to digest and dissect in this one write up, but incredibly insightful on where design as a craft, domain and career path is headed! ⚡️