One of the best pieces of hiring advice an NSCS manager gave me was this: hire a generalist. I think the rationale is pretty simple. While there is a world of opportunity out there for the specialists–be they doctors, lawyers, programmers or economists–for the rest of us it is often better to be a happy generalist and hire happy generalists.  Here’s why I think that works:

1. Generalists can cross teams and departments with increased empathy and interest. They’re also better able to  resist silos.

2. Generalists are more likely to be willing to try/do anything, which makes them more desirable employees and better innovators.

3. Generalists are better problem solvers.

The result of that manager’s  advice is manifested in our staff. Barring our accountant (hi Wayne! Please pay me!), virtually everyone is a generalist. Our COO looks at our PR strategy and tactics. Our Director of Operations always has feedback for me on our marketing of programs. I am on every hiring panel for every new employee regardless of their department. I have weighed in on our staff evaluation and training methods. We’re all generalists at heart.We do it because we want to dabble, experiment and try things outside our job descriptions.

The results of our work and our organization speak for themselves– we’re a multi-million dollar association with 750,000+  members at 280 universities.