Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? It’s a question that has long been debated by recruiters, employers, and those individuals at a crossroads in their professional or academic journey. Increasingly, both sides of this discussion have found passionate advocates across the insurance profession as the post-COVID economic environment prompts businesses and individuals alike to consider their new place in an unsettled world.
There are few operating in the broking profession who do not hold some opinion – whether mildly or more fervently expressed – on whether there’s more value in an insurance advisor able to offer concentrated expertise or in one able to bring their perspective on a range of subject areas. From conversations with some of these individuals, several key takeaways can be established.
Right off the bat, let’s make the case for specialists, those individuals who firmly believe that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. They’re persuasive too, these professionals who dig deep into niche corners of the market and carve out a value proposition nearly impossible to replicate, given the time they’ve invested in their own expertise and the loyal partnerships they’ve formed across their chosen sector.
Read more: Brokers – it's time to get specialised
The advantages of being a specialist are multitudinous. Not only are specialists highly sought after by businesses catering to a specific vocation, but they’re more likely to be able to set the terms and conditions of their working environment by being a rare and thus valuable commodity. In strong market conditions for your specialism, the perks of being an SME, or Subject Matter Expert, go beyond the ability to command a higher wage or select your employer of choice and include being able to carve out a name for yourself in your given niche.
Years of working on the front-line of your subject matter rounds out tertiary understanding with primary experience, which is invaluable to those looking for advice and consultancy services. Specialists have the capacity to become thought leaders in their subject areas and to expand beyond the initial remit of their job description to embrace new opportunities as their career progresses.
Next up, the generalists with their nudging supposition that William J Mayo may have been correct when he said, “a specialist is a man who knows more and more about less and less.” They too offer a compelling proposition, that developing highly transferable skills and knowing a little bit about a lot of things is the secret to a well-rounded professional offering.
For those opting for the generalist route, the advantages appear unmistakable. Generalists boast unparalleled career flexibility, able to change course with relative ease and bring along those transferrable skills that set them up for a future filled with variety. Within the context of an insurance broker, being a generalist also ties in closely with the renewed emphasis on cross-selling and upselling opportunities emphasised as critical by many business leaders.
Generalists also tend to benefit from increased job security as they are not subject to the market fluctuations that can drive up or down demand the need for specialist advice and expertise. Given the range of skills that it takes to be a great generalist – including the ability to learn quickly, to think out of the box and to spot the interconnectivity of risk – a tough economic environment often provides the right conditions for these individuals to flourish.
If there is a concrete conclusion available regarding the value of specialists over generalists or vice versa, it is something I haven’t reached, impressed as I am by the remarkable potential value of both options.
In reference to the ongoing debate, you may often hear that “a jack of all trades is a master of none” but rarely the full quote which reveals that, “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” And so, it seems to me that the critical part of this consideration hinges on being among the best specialist or generalist you can be – while embracing that there is room for both in the insurance profession and a great deal each can learn from the other.
