Master You Shall Be… (The 3rd Rule of Consulting)
“Jack of all trades…Master of none.”
We have all heard the phrase. Some of us believe it more than others. Whether you believe it or not…the pressing question is:
“Can you be successful as a jack of all trades? Or MUST you master something?”
My official, professional, non-committal answer is: it depends. Haha!
But it truly does. Certain roles, such as operations or even most management roles, require a certain degree of “jack-i-ness.” You must be versatile, being able to thoughtfully, patiently listen to each crazy, seemingly random situation that comes your way. And then you must take your equally random knowledge of “related” (but different) experiences and use those to logically develop a possible solution to the situation at hand.
Other roles, such as the head of a specific department or “senior” position, require a person who is a master of the skills their direct reports need. For example, if you are a Senior Engineer and manager of the Mechanical Engineering department at a manufacturing company, you need to be a master at mechanical engineering. Your direct reports will bring difficult and complex situations to you, often because their level of expertise and/or experience is not sufficient to answer this new (to them) situation. You, as the “senior,” are expected to have a coherent, logical solution to the situation since you (most often) have the greatest amount of experience. Although having a wide array of experiences may be helpful…these various experiences are typically only helpful to your role as Senior Engineer if they are related to the mechanical engineering realm.
So…I didn’t answer the question. I simply showed conditions in which being EITHER a “jack” OR a “master” was advantageous. What is more advantageous in your current role? What was more advantageous in your past roles? Do you notice a trend? WHY was being a Jack or a Master more advantageous in one of your roles than in another?
In my experience, specifically in the business realm, it is advantageous to be both – but my understanding of when it is advantageous has changed with experience.
Being a “jack of all trades” is very helpful in general conversation, relationship building with new clients or employees, leading people, starting businesses, providing operational structure and efficiencies, and more. The ability to do a little bit of everything is typically quite advantageous within the business realm due to the wide array of skills needed to make any business operate efficiently and successfully.
Being a “master” in some of those trades is essential to providing the depth of insights and recommending the impactful changes needed to truly improve the status of certain areas within the business. For example, if you aren’t a master in the financial area, you will not be able to adequately understand the intricacies of the company’s budget, past or current trends, much less be able to project and recommend courses of action for successful future growth. Generalities and high-level insights from a “jack” will not sufficiently solve the company’s needs.
Bottom line: Whether you are currently a “jack” or a “master”, continue to refine your skills, be open to new experiences, and don’t be afraid to be challenged by new situations. I promise I didn’t steal that from a fortune cookie, I have seen the fruits of embracing it in my life! Although my natural skillset positioned me as a Jack of all trades, my experiences have elevated a number of those trades into areas of mastery. It is those areas of mastery that my clients most often seek! Being a “jack” of all trades simply serves as a welcome bonus 😊
