Harnessing the Specialist Skills of each Team Member

There can be no doubt that a leopard is a specialised hunter. After stalking and killing its prey – usually through suffocation or severing the spinal cord – a leopard will often hoist the carcass up to a tree branch, thus protecting it from competitors and scavengers.
Similarly, you may feel that you have specialist skills of each individual member, and then often have generalist team members as well.

Specialisation in Nature

Nature provides a myriad of examples of the importance of specialist skills. In a pride of lion, for instance, it is customary for the lionesses to hunt and kill prey. Although all lionesses are capable of performing this specialised role, it is sometimes the case that one or two females in a pride exhibit this specialisation at an advanced level. These females are the ones who are always taking the lead in the hunt. It is these specialists who take the risk and jump on the buffalo’s back. I have witnessed some instances where the rest of the pride seems to stand back while the specialist hunter does what she does best – bringing down the prey.

The need for generalists and specialists

Specialists exist in the business world as well. Indeed, most companies rely upon specialised staff to undertake key activities. Without the differentiated skills sets of these team members, such as market researchers, finance managers and IT personnel, the viability of the team, and the organisation, is threatened. However, to my mind, the most effective teams have a combination of specialist and generalist skills.

I believe that great teams consist of team members possessing different areas of expertise. Even if you have a team of dynamic and highly specialised team members, it will not be effective in reaching its objectives if everyone is doing the same thing.

Generalists are those people who possess a number of different skills sets. They may start out focusing on one particular area of expertise, but as time goes by, they hone their skills in other fields. I believe that these generalists are as vital to a team’s success as the specialists.

Find out more about how we need each team member in order to be successful when you buy Vernon Cresswells book