Most recruiters can find a technical specialist that has hoarded knowledge of a particular subject. All they need to do is to search for the relevant keywords and certifications. But will that person be able to operate on that knowledge and do the job? Because sometimes after the hire - those specialists turn out to be narrow-thinkers - unable to leverage and synthesize information - even for the specialist role they were recruited for. And they do not know how to make inferences because of their knowledge to produce results. What you really need to find is a productive specialist!

“This is not easy to understand unless we went through it. During years I could not understand why I would hire people that had good references, good track record and then they couldn't face the challenges I would give them. What happened was that "they do not have the insights potential to convert that knowledge into practical understanding if not linked to a previous proven experience of success". If I placed them doing what they always did, they would be fine, of I would challenge them to go to the next level and boost their career, there was a problem. Now I understand, they couldn't do something different from what they did before without someone to direct them because they could not apply the knowledge further.” — Ana Sequeira - Managing Director at CBS Clarus (Ana Sequeira, A. 2019, Junior Schoeman, LinkedIn, viewed 21 Nov, 2019 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aptdsg_ccpn-activity-6603320600725422080-VuR7 )

So the antidote for this is for the recruiter to pay attention to the depth that you actually need in the role. And the ability of the person being interviewed to actually apply the knowledge in a productive manner. Not everyone needs to be a deep specialist to be a successful contributor in a discipline. In fact, someone less deep in specialized thought patterns may occasionally be able to point out the ‘gotchas’ or ‘flaws’ in the direction of the tasks they have been assigned. This is the stuff that adds value to a team! What is really needed is a productive specialist that has

“Majority of the current disengagement problems can be contributed to the fact that the individual talent potential is not understood or assessed outside performance skills and education base where confirmation bias stops the deeper enquiry of the true potential exist to support the complexity of managing and leading people. Leading to overpromotion” - Junior Schoeman , Innate Talent Discovery Pte Ltd (Junior Schoeman, A. 2019, Junior Schoeman, LinkedIn, viewed 21 Nov, 2019 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aptdsg_ccpn-activity-6603320600725422080-VuR7 )

Let’s look at some approaches to identifying a productive specialist for a role.

Traditional Approach: Leverage a Monomath

Roles where you need people to perform complex tasks and produce specific products our outcomes based on a body of knowledge. Key words here include produce!

Monomaths take pride in the details of their roles. You may find words or phrases describing them such as:
- detail-oriented
- results-oriented
- consistently accurate work products
Monomaths place a great deal of value on the depth of their knowledge. You can identify this by the number of certifications in their discipline, so you will typically see a lot of acronyms after the names in their email signatures. Make sure they have evidence of applying the knowledge and producing results in a business environment.
Monomaths might be prominent in their field with books, articles, blogs or presentations as evidence. Make sure that they have actually practiced what they teach.
Note: Many recruiters tend to be biased towards monomaths because they lean heavily on certification evidence of ability to perform a role. Traditional interviewing techniques still need to be used to see how the person actually used the knowledge. Here are some examples of good and bad interview questions for technical professional that determine whether and to what extent someone can operate on their knowledge.
- Recall-type Interview Question: “Please tell me the components of xyz ” . This question is designed to see if the candidate has the knowledge stored in their memory bank about attributes of xyz. It does not indicate whether or not the person can use xyz in a real-world situation to contribute to building a product. The question does not ask anything about how to use xyz to achieve any business results.
- Experience-type Interview Question: “Could you please explain how you used xyz to improve something about the product you mention you built at Go-co Inc?" This question is better designed to elicit information about not only the components of xyz, but a good candidate answer will also explain the rationale behind why the xyz was defined by someone in the first place as a good standard solution pattern.
- Replication-type Interview Question” "Did you implement a ZZZ product before? Tell me about it" This question will inform the interviewer if someone participated in implementing something, but will not dig out the rationale they used for the how or the why of building the ZZZ product. If they did not create the process of how to build the ZZZ product, then they might not be able to build a ZZZ product in a different environment in the future.

Alternate Approach: Leverage a Polymath

Leverage a Polymath with related skills because you can train the polymath quickly to a sufficient level of detail to be proficient. Just don’t keep this thought-style in a single role forever.

A Polymath probably has more than one resume’ version with different titles on it. All will be valid. Their resumes’ may show less time in a particular role relative to the span of a career. With a Polymath, they will be able to draw inferences from related things they have done in the past. They also learn very quickly when provided the opportunity. They will quickly get to 80% of the knowledge needed to perform in a particular capacity,
Be patient after hire because Polymaths will surprise you with insights seemingly unrelated to the job they are performing. They synthesize connections from every person they work with.
Many polymaths have well developed creative sides. They may have portfolios totally unrelated to their day-job such as painting, music, sculpting, or writing.
Polymaths may have multiple advanced degrees in different areas. This does not indicate lack of focus.

Recruiting Bias via the One-Way Mirror Against Polymaths

Alternate Approach: Leverage a Scanner

Leverage a Polymath or Scanner with related skills because you can train either quickly to a sufficient level of detail to be proficient. Just don’t keep either thought-style in that role forever unless they have found a way to iterate and keep their curiosity moving inside a specialty.

Scanners may have multiple career changes, or the resume’ may be shorter than the span of their career. Career changes are normal for a scanner.
This type of person needs to currently be enthusiastic about the particular skill that you are hiring for at the time you are looking.
Scanners can have trouble with finishing things if they have not learned the self- discipline to counteract their scanning tendencies.

So in conclusion, any type of “thought-style” can perform a specialized task. However, they will come on board with different needs for training, management, and anticipated longevity in the role.