.

Selecting a consultant

Should you select a generalist or a specialist?

A consultant / director who is a perceived to be a generalist is someone who has mastered more than one specialty and practices each as the occasion demands

Generalist A generalist is someone with a broad depth of experience and is a good general problem solver. The experience of more than one area of specialty gives a more general ability to solve problems. This means a generalist can take on problems that are ordinarily of larger scope, scale, and complexity than those addressed by specialists. This is not to say that specialists are not problem solvers, too, because they are. It is to say that the scope, scale, and complexity of the problems specialists attempt to solve are bounded by their specialties. If not, they are out of their field and perhaps out of their league. Generalists look for the ways in which things work together, they have a more global picture and can more readily take a birds eye view of whether or not something would be good for the business as a whole as opposed to an isolated process within the business. Generalists and specialists both seek out problems and seek to solve them.

A major difference between the two lies in the kinds of problems sought. A generalist will knowingly tackle problems that will or could involve specialties beyond those which have already been mastered. A specialist who is content to remain a specialist will not.

The goal of a generalist is to solve the problem at hand, to engineer a fitting solution.

The goal of the specialist is to find problems that fit the solutions at hand. (This is a fine distinction but it is a very important one.)

Telling one from the other

How do you distinguish a generalist from a specialist? The simplest way is to ask consultants to identify themselves as one or the other.

Evaluating a specialist is straightforward.

Evaluating a generalist requires more research and a reference list of projects and scope would assist Which discipline is best for your company? Do you want help in solving a problem or in implementing a solution? In the first case, you may be better to use a generalist. In the second, you almost certainly want a specialist but the specialist skills may be better in the generalist so a full evaluation of skills and experience is essential Is the project one that is thought to be solvable by the use of a particular skill (e.g., training, design or management)? If not, then you probably require the services of a generalist. If so, then you might use a generalist who is master of that particular specialty and who is willing to dedicate the effort to the use of that particular area of skill.

Are your needs for control high or low? If they are high, you may be better to use a generalist as they are better equipped to adapt their practice to your requirements.

If your needs for control are low then you should perhaps choose a specialist as they are more inclined to focus on the specific issue with no wider perspectives What you require is a balance between your need for control and the consultant's ability to work within the constraints

Conclusion

You should consider if your project would benefit from the services of a generalist or a specialist.

Choose your consultant with care, and give thought to the difference between a generalist and a specialist