If we had an opportunity to choose freely, would we rather be managed by an expert or a generalist?

If we had an opportunity to choose freely, would we rather be managed by an #expert or a #generalist? An #expertboss has the wealth of knowledge on the subject matter and that in itself gives a sense of security and trust towards their judgement. However, this can also make the manager feel they know best and instead of: – inspiring the team, – giving them responsibility, – maximising their potential, – asking good questions, they will tend to: – overwhelm the team, – voice their opinions too early on in the brainstorming process, – give answers, – and at the same time try to lead. This unfortunately makes the expert leader feel inadequate, they do not know how to achieve success as a leader by sticking to the expert toolkit. Not many organisations take sufficient care of this transition period between expert and leader, which often leads to the manager’s burnout, conflicts with the team and lack of fulfilment in the role. Nevertheless, studies show that teams led by experts are much more engaged than those run by generalists. Your manager’s understanding of your job scope is a good satisfaction predictor. We can say that the best bosses are expert in their field, but not all experts will make the leap to become a great leader.