Specialization and Focus

Excessive specialization is one of the most understandable, and yet enormously limiting, forces in the workplace.

It is difficult to be an effective manager without learning some law, psychology, economics, sociology, history, organizational development, and a mixture of other topics but I've met many people who strive to do so. They draw tight boundaries and cherish the false comfort of a far too narrow specialization. Not surprisingly, they are not quick to spot trends or potential problems because their very nature puts them into a reactive mode. The last time some of them cracked a book outside of their professional reading was in college. They have indirectly restricted their intellectual development.

Such specialization is not to be confused with focus. Focus permits us to avoid the distractions of lower priorities and, as Peter Drucker noted years ago, the most effective executives are those who don't multi-task but do "first things first."

Combine a healthy intellectual curiosity with the ability to focus and you have the makings of a highly effective leader.

My sense if that those executives and managers who are able to connect the dots between their own discipline and others perform more effectively and glean more enjoyment from the job. They see a bigger picture that can provide far more meaning to their work and their lives. They have taken their calling to a higher level.