Life’s Work » Leadership Leverage

I have made my career out of being an outlier.

I went to sales training in 2006 and it scared the shit out of me. I didn’t have the confidence at that point in my career and was shell-shocked by the talent and didn’t see myself making it to that level. I was scared to sell, and scared to tell leadership I wasn’t ready to sell, which you don’t do in a sales driven organization, especially in 2006. Six months into my first true professional role and I felt like it was the end. I thought I wanted more time to hone my craft as a recruiter, which is funny because in the near future I would quickly move into account management, quickly formalizing into delivery operations, driving solutions through account portfolio leadership. In reality, I was limiting myself, but I also felt there was something different for me, and this was just the beginning of naturally positioning myself to be a unique contributor in a sea of recruiters and sales people.

Whenever I embrace being unique and going after what I found at the time as being hard, scary, or difficult, I thrive. When I take on what no one else wants, or thinks can work, or knows how to do, what others struggle with, projects that are losing money, I find the thrill and excitement to build, iterate, develop, and transform. I love the big, challenging, complex work that is seen as the impossible. Turning impossible into a reality is so much fun.

Put me in a box of just do this, do that, do it just like everyone else, with no creative, thought provoking work, or decision making, my impact is limited. I thrive on ownership and high accountability with driving results through vision, passion, and performance. I put a stamp on it and find honey in a wasp’s nest.

Here’s the challenge with that: unless people get it from personal experience or a truly open mind, they don’t get it. Even in 2008, when I did a lot more than recruit with a local role across Central and Southern Indiana, building an account portfolio, and from 2013 when I was in a full-fledged service delivery leader role across North America, with over 500 engineering and technical consultants and a delivery team, my family friends, and even many in the work world would say, so you’re a recruiter right?! Something like that…

Sure, once a recruiter always a recruiter in how you can think, network, and remember who that lady was that did that niche programming in 2007, but not a recruiter from an actual work perspective. I am an HR, Ops, and Account Portfolio leader.

I have fought this battle within myself my entire career - be this, be that, need to do that, must do that, you’re great with math and science - be an engineer, you’re great with people, you should sell, you need to specialize, you need to stay in your box, you need to do things another way, be yourself, be someone else….

Popularized Specialization

In a world of specialization, the push to own your niche, know you craft, and drill down to the most specific content or specializations, it begs the question - what role does the generalist play?

Similar to all this tech focus and AI, does it make human experience and touch more valuable? Specialized work, does it make the generalist more valuable? I’ve found that within the “generalist” is a unique specialty and has so many layers to peel back. Determined not by market designation or job descriptions, but by value and results. Each generalist has a special skill or unique ability that’s just a little harder to see, pull out, maybe wearing a disguise, but it’s there, and it’s up to you as a leader to pull it out of each team member, or for yourself, allow your unique value to show through. Capitalize on your, and help others capitalize on themselves.

Really great leaders aren’t always exceptional engineers, designers, investors, or even managers, they are great leaders. Leadership is their zone of genius or unique ability. How you view and describe yourself, position your work, and hone your craft, that starts to define you as a professional. Seek to be a great leader, in your own way, and find your unique ability within your journey.

The generalist is simply a disguised specialist with a less known niche from my perspective.  For me, I have deeper specialties in talent, workforce strategy, turnaround leadership, transformation, and scaling client or company portfolios. How you describe it doesn’t need a marketing genius, but it does take clarity. Few resonate with “organizational turnaround specialist”- even those who could use or follow that content.

Generalist? Consider redirecting your label. Listen for the signs - don’t ignore the universe. Get out a piece of paper and go back to your Ikigai. Let your body of work, interests, and revenue opportunities help guide where your impact, and your own version of your label should be. If you don’t label yourself, others will. Embracing your thing and explaining it your way, allows you an opportunity to shape your own brand how you want it to look, not how others decide to see you.

Closing Bell

Hopefully, this added a little value to your business or leadership journey. Thank you for reading. If you think this may help someone else, please repost ♻️ or share. Thanks for being here. 🌍🏔️.

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"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain