Not long ago, the idea of being a “generalist” in the workplace had a mixed reputation. The stereotype was the “jack of all trades” who could dabble in many disciplines but was a “master of none.” And for years, that was more or less true. Most people simply didn’t have access to the expertise required to do highly cross-functional work. If you needed a new graphic, you waited for a designer. If you needed to change a contract, you waited for legal. In smaller organizations and startups, this waiting game was typically replaced with inaction or improvization — often with questionable results.AI is changing this faster than any technology shift I’ve seen. It’s allowing people to succeed at tasks beyond their normal area of expertise.Anthropic found that AI is “enabling engineers to become more full-stack in their work,” meaning they’re able to make competent decisions across a much wider range of interconnected technologies. A direct consequence of this is tasks that would have been left aside due to lack of time or expertise are now being accomplished (27% of AI-assisted work per Anthropic’s study).
This shift is closely mirroring the effects of past revolutionary technologies. The invention of the automobile or the computer did not bring us a wealth of leisure time — it mainly led us to start doing work that could not be done before.With AI as a guide, anyone can now expand their skillsets and augment their expertise to accomplish more. This fundamentally changes what people can do, who can do it, how teams operate, and what leaders should expect. Well, not so fast. The AI advances have been incredible …