Are you a multipotentialite? (and what it means for your career)

Multipotentialites are often misunderstood, yet their curiosity, adaptability and ability to connect ideas can be a huge strength in today's workplace. By proactively managing your career to make the most of your multipotentialite strengths, you can build a fulfilling career while bringing a unique perspective to every role you take on.

What is a multipotentialite?

In short, a multipotentialite is someone with many interests who wants to pursue them as much as possible. The term was popularised by Emilie Wapnick in a TED Talk that introduced the concept to a wider audience.

Famous multipotentialites

Even if you're not familiar with the term, you'll probably recognise some of these names:

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Benjamin Franklin
• Beatrix Potter
• Maya Angelou
• Julia Child

There are many more examples, but the essence is this: we once admired people who could turn their hand to many different things, rather than focusing on just one. As a modern multipotentialite, you can still absolutely do that.

Signs you might be a multipotentialite

Every multipotentialite is different; there's no doubt about that. But there are a few things many multipotentialites have in common:

• The thought of picking just one path in life fills you with dread.
• You have lots of ideas and interests you want to pursue, ideally all at once.
• Being told to focus on one thing and become a super expert frustrates you.
• You thrive on variety.
• You can't stand boredom.
• You're a fast learner and often pick up new skills quickly.
• You're adaptable and comfortable with change.
• You naturally connect ideas and see links that others might miss.
• Once you've learned what you wanted from a role, project or interest, you're often ready for a new challenge.

Does that sound like you? Keep reading.

Being a multipotentialite at work

What does this mean in the workplace? Well, that depends on where you work.

If you're in an organisation that encourages you to use your varied interests, develop a broad range of skills and keeps you challenged, you've probably found a great fit. But that isn't everyone's experience.

From an early age, we're often asked, "What do you want to do when you grow up?", as though there's only one correct answer. We're encouraged to choose one career path before we've really had the chance to understand ourselves, and to stick with it for the rest of our working lives.

For some people, that's exactly right. They develop a passion for one subject and enjoy building deep expertise throughout their career.

At the same time, careers have changed. Long gone are the days when most people joined one organisation straight from school or university and stayed there until retirement. Career changes, new opportunities and developing different skills have become a much more natural part of working life.

As a multipotentialite, you may still feel pressure to specialise. Becoming an expert is often seen as the traditional route to success. But being a multipotentialite doesn't mean you lack expertise; it simply means you also enjoy exploring different interests and bringing ideas together.

Why organisations need multipotentialites

Specialists and multipotentialites aren't in competition with one another. They bring different strengths, and organisations need both.

Specialists offer deep knowledge, technical expertise and years of experience within a particular field. They're often the people you turn to when you need detailed answers or highly specialised skills.

Multipotentialites bring something different. They naturally connect ideas across disciplines, spot opportunities others might miss and enjoy bringing different perspectives together. They often thrive when collaborating across teams, solving complex problems and helping projects become greater than the sum of their parts.

The strongest organisations recognise the value of both approaches. When specialists and multipotentialites work together, they create a balance of depth and breadth that can lead to better ideas, stronger collaboration and more innovative solutions.

As a multipotentialite myself, I died a little inside every time I was asked to take off my colourful multipotentialite cape and put on specialist shoes. We all need to be specialists, I was told in one of my jobs. That's what clients pay us for.

I think that's where the challenge lies. As our world has become more complex, we've naturally needed greater levels of specialisation. But somewhere along the way, we sometimes forgot that organisations also need people who can connect the dots, see the bigger picture and bring different areas together.

That's where multipotentialites can make a real difference.

How to make the most of your strengths

The first step is understanding yourself. While multipotentialites share many characteristics, there are different ways this can show up, so it's worth reflecting on questions like:

• Do I enjoy working on lots of things at the same time, or do I prefer moving from one interest to another?
• Do I need my career to satisfy most of my interests, or am I happy for work to support the interests I pursue outside of it?

Once you've explored those questions, and if you discover you'd like your work to reflect your wider range of interests, it's worth having an open conversation with your manager.

Be honest. You're not simply a specialist in your field (remember, being a multipotentialite doesn't mean you can't also be a specialist); you also bring the ability to connect ideas, adapt quickly and think broadly. Ask whether there are opportunities, projects or learning experiences that allow you to use those strengths.

It may require you to be proactive. But building a career that reflects who you are is often worth the effort.

Understanding how you naturally learn, work and stay motivated can help you build a career that plays to your strengths rather than forcing you into someone else's idea of success.