When I first read the hero headline of the Generalist World website, “Build a career that (finally) fits the shape of you,” I thought, “Ooh! Someone doing similar work to me. I dig it!”
But then I dug deeper to find that the founder, Milly Tamati, promotes the idea that no shape can fit you. Her niche is being strongly anti-niche. Apparently generalists contain too many multitudes to fit into any label…except “generalist”.
This annoys me.
So when I had a chat with Taylor Morrison, a member of the Generalist community who prefers to call herself a “career portfolioist,” I tried my darndest to find a polite way to ask, “Aren’t broad labels like generalist / career portfolioist copouts for not making hard trade-offs to find your unique fit?”
Turns out Taylor was the right person to ask, as one item in her career portfolio is a PhD dissertation on a related topic. She’s using social identity theory of leadership to explore how a label like “generalist” can influence your career.
Embracing the identity of “generalist” gives a sense of belonging to those who feel left out for failing to fit into the specialist mold. “I’m not a semi-dissatisfied marketer/salesperson/programmer/dentist. I’m not alone either. I’m a generalist!”
Adopting this identity then shifts your behavior. “Generalists act this way, so I do, too!”
This reminded me of something else that irks me: Myers-Briggs. The unscientific typology concocted by a mother and daughter caught on because people love labeling themselves. See also: astrology, enneagram, etc.
But a client of mine persuaded me that even the most scientifically unfounded label beats no label at all. Knowing someone’s an INTJ, an 8 with a 3 wing, a Taurus, a generalist, gives you a huge head start toward understanding them (if you speak those labels’ lingo). And more power to anyone who feels less misfitting and more belonging under those identities. Each of these labels gives you some footing to explain and guide your behavior.
But if you don’t understand what compelled you to embrace those identities in the first place, each acts like a horse tied to your carriage, pulling you in its own direction.
Curate Your Identity Closet with Care
Better yet, each label is a different outfit. Some make you look attractive to others, like Startup CEO or straight-A student, or Swiftie. So you wear them even though they chafe.
Other funky new identities, like generalist, fit better than traditional outfits you’ve tried on before. But because of their novelty you might feel silly in them. So it helps to see tens of thousands of others doffing the same.
Some excessively independent-minded folk, like me, resist identities. You can’t put me in a box! I contain multitudes!
Maybe I identify as an identity nudist?
The problem with identity nudism is at least three-fold:
- You’re making it impossible for people who meet you to understand you.
- You’re letting subconscious identities influence your behavior.
- You’re rejecting the upsides of identity, like a sense of belonging and behavior change.
So I think it’s best to practice identity curation.
One highly effective approach: act like a rebellious teenager trying on a whole bunch of crazy identities to gauge your own and others’ reactions. Narrow in on what feels best for you while benefiting others.
A more pragmatic approach: use the clues from your life experiences to better understand the spiky blob that you’re trying to fit identities over. That’s where labels like INTJ, type 8 with 3 wings, Taurus, and generalist can help. Each gives you a peek from a different angle at your unique, spiky spine.
Bring enough of these lenses together and your core shape gets clearer. Then labels stop leading you astray. Fashionable identities that don’t fit lose their appeal. And you can custom tailor baggy ones like “generalist” to your liking.
Give your core an identity of its own. Then keep collecting lenses on it. Hypothesize, test, update, repeat. “Self-concept clarity,” psychologists call it. This birthday suit of an identity won’t help you find belonging with other people, but I bet it helps you find belonging with your past and future selves.
Maybe being the type of person who collects lenses and curates identities is an identity in its own right?
The name I’ve embraced is Fugawi. It comes from an old Sopranos joke about the nomadic tribe that wanders around going “where the fug are we?”
Too many of us default into the Sposta camp. Spostas force themselves to fit into identities based on external expectations of what they’re supposed to do. Fugawi work the other way. Fugawi select their fits from the inside out, trusting it as the better way to a truly impressive life.
Fugawi may not be the best name, but as Taylor convinced me, a working identity is better than nothing. I’ll wear it. Maybe even print a sticker for my computer. But I wouldn’t mind some company. So whether you’re a generalist, specialist, portfolio-careerist, INTJ, Taurus, or Type 3, I invite you to try Fugawi on underneath whatever other labels you choose. See how it feels.
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About the author
I decode what makes people different and help them build extraordinary things with it. Creator of Innate Edge. Writer of The Zag.
