If you Want to be a Great Project Manager, Generalise don't Specialise

I never set out to be a jack of all trades. In fact, when I first stepped into project management, I was convinced that specialization was the key to success.

"Find your niche," they said.

"Become an expert in one field," they advised.

But as I progressed through my career, I discovered the power of being a generalist.

I started my career fresh out of my project management certification program, I felt prepared. I had memorized every process in the PMBOK, could recite risk management strategies in my sleep, and had a toolbox full of shiny new project management software at my disposal. I was ready to conquer the world.

Or so I thought.

After a few days on the job it was clear that nothing was as clear as I had believed. There were a million interrelated (and often conflicting) things to understand.

And none of them fit neatly into the processes I had been taught.

I’m 100% confident that this sounds familiar to you.

Engineers spoke to architects who spoke to safety agents who spoke to software designers who spoke to UI/UX designers who spoke to designers I couldn’t even name.

I had my project management plans but it was paper in a hurricane.

As I sweated over project documents, trying to make sense of the cross-functional chaos I had witnessed, I had to face the inevitable:

If I wanted to succeed in this role (and in project management as a career), I needed to broaden my horizons, not narrow them.

Specialist-Generalist

From then on, I made a conscious decision to diversify my experiences. With each new project, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone.

There were moments of doubt, of course. I didn’t know if diversifying would make me less employable? Was it better to be a specialist?

But as I engaged with others in fields I didn’t understand, I came to realise my job was to ask the right questions, to connect the dots between different areas of expertise, and to keep the bigger picture in focus while others delved into the details.

This pattern repeated itself across industries and project types.

My generalist approach became my superpower.

I could speak enough of everyone's language to facilitate communication, spot potential issues that siloed experts might miss, and draw innovative solutions from unexpected places.

Some advice

Looking back now, I can say with certainty that choosing to generalize rather than specialize was the best decision I ever made as a project manager.

In a world that's increasingly interconnected, where innovation often happens at the intersection of different fields, the ability to see the big picture and connect disparate ideas is invaluable.

To aspiring project managers, my advice is this: embrace variety, cultivate curiosity, and never stop learning. Your strength lies not in knowing everything about one thing, but in knowing enough about many things to bring people together, solve complex problems, and drive projects to success.

In the end, being a great project manager isn't about being the smartest person in the room—it's about being the person who can bring out the best in every specialist, weave their expertise into a cohesive whole, and guide the team towards a common goal. And for that, there's no better preparation than a career spent generalizing.

So if you want to be a truly great project manager, don't limit yourself. Generalize, adapt, and watch as a world of opportunities unfolds before you.