{"id":2518,"date":"2019-07-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/vlogs\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:20:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:20:13","slug":"summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world","status":"publish","type":"vlog","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit Session: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- blocks\/hero-editorial -->\n<!-- inc\/hero-editorial -->\n<div class=\"hero es-hero__editorial hero--var-1\" role=\"banner\">\n\t<div class=\"hero__image\" style=\"background-image: url();\">\n\n\t\t<div class=\"hero__overlay grad-overlay content-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero__content\">\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero__content__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <p class=\"es-label es-label--md\">\n                                Jul 04, 2019                            <\/p>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\" class=\"theme-dark hero__back-link back-link es-label es-label--sm\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"icon icon--md icon--arrow-left\"><\/span>Videos<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"hero__title\">Summit Session: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n        \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <section class=\"es-section theme-light hero__sidebar-wrapper container\">\n        <div class=\"hero__sidebar\">\n                            <div class=\"category-list\">\n                  <div class=\"es-label es-label--sm\">Category<\/div>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/category\/human-performance\/\" rel=\"tag\">Human Performance<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/category\/leadership-culture-performance\/\" rel=\"tag\">Leadership &amp; Culture<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/category\/summit-session\/\" rel=\"tag\">Summit Session<\/a>                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"share-list\">\n                  <div class=\"es-label es-label--sm\">Share<\/div>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/\">Facebook<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/&#038;text=Summit Session: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World\">Twitter<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Here's a Leaders In Sport article for you &amp;body=Check out this article: Summit Session: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/\">Email<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"#copyLink\" id=\"copyButton\" class=\"copy-link-clipboard\">Copy Link<\/a>\n                  <div id=\"textToCopy\" class=\"font-hidden\">https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/videos\/summit-session-how-generalists-triumph-in-a-specialized-world\/<\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\r\n\r\n<!-- blocks\/section -->\n<section\n  class=\"es-section flexible-section  text-only theme-light\"\n    >\n                <div class=\"container\">\n                                    <div class=\"bg-striped-pattern__inner section-padding-top section-padding-bottom\">\n                <div class=\"es-section__inner col-parent col-parent--stack-sm\">\n                                            <div class=\"es-section__sidebar es-section__sidebar--sticky col col--12 \">\n                                                            <p class=\"es-section__label es-label es-label--md\">In this two-part session, we heard from Author of Range David Epstein on specialism vs. generalism &#038; Former Special Operations Pararescue Commander Tony Lesmes on how Range&#8217;s research applied to his real-life case study.<\/p>\n                            \n                                                                <div class=\"video video__inline\">\n                                        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/345560897\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe>\n                                    <\/div>\n                            \n                            \n                                                            <div class=\"es-section__text content-area\">\n                                    <p><p>The first session of day two allowed us to explore world-leading research into how and why generalists triumph in a specialized world. Themes within this focused on how to succeed in life, why early specialization and many hours of deliberate practice may not be the answer and finally how spreading your knowledge across multiple domains over one single area is the key to success.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What if everything you\u2019ve been taught about how to succeed has been wrong? The way to develop a 10-year-old is different in the way to develop a 20-year-old. Many of the most talented people, and not just in sport, succeed because they find their way.<\/li>\n<li>\u2018The reality of my leadership experience was that I was leading people that were highly trained with a lot more experience that me\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>\u2018People really changed my character. I know that it was part of the process that I was constantly going to be challenged\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>Pushing specialization won\u2019t always be a good thing for your young athletes. In fact, if could do the opposite. However, emphasizing diversity can be just as harmful.<\/li>\n<li>Top athletes usually have a \u2018range\u2019 or \u2018sampling period\u2019 \u2013 where they try different sports and have different experiences that will ultimately shape them. It means they learn more and create and understanding of their own ability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Thinking Points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The way to develop the best 10-year-old athlete is not the same way as the way to develop the best 20-year-old athlete. There is greater value in being a generalist than being a life-long or career specialist. Many of the highest achieving people in elite fields succeed because they find their way to that field through other endeavors first.<\/li>\n<li>There is an idea that certain sports stars were given a \u2018head start\u2019 and created early by their parents whereas, in fact, those parents were simply responding to their children\u2019s unusual display of interest and prowess. Don\u2019t push specialization but, equally, don\u2019t force-feed diversity either.<\/li>\n<li>Breadth is the ally of depth. Elite athletes more often than not have a \u2018sampling period\u2019. By experiencing a broad array of sporting opportunities, athletes are able to try and to reflect on a greater number of disciplines, which promotes maximum self-learning and greater understanding of their abilities and proclivities.<\/li>\n<li>Turn the notion of \u2018quitters never winning\u2019 on its head. The ability to persevere when something is difficult may develop character and turn into a competitive advantage but, equally, the opposite may be true. Knowing when to quit may make you happier by freeing you to try other pursuits.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n                                <\/div>\n                            \n                            \n                            \n                                                    <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"col visibly-hidden col--flex-align-right\">\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[21,20,33],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-2518","vlog","type-vlog","status-publish","hentry","category-human-performance","category-leadership-culture-performance","category-summit-session"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Summit Session: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - 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