The ability for a generalist to perform is going to kind of depend on their role on a team. As a note I consider myself to be a generalist in the web applicati

The ability for a generalist to perform is going to kind of depend on their role on a team. As a note I consider myself to be a generalist in the web application world (I have a pretty good handle on every stage of the stack, some parts more in depth than others). Really I think the strength there is the overall visibility of how systems work. For me the strength is from a technical and product standpoint, I'm looking for solutions at each level and trying to determine which is the best just because I have experience working at each level. Someone that's focused on front-end or back-end work is going to look at their end for the solution and not necessarily on the other ends. The problem I have is I might not have as solid of a solution as someone that is an expert on that edge of the stack (though I could learn about it if given the opportunity). Basically I might have a different set of tools at my disposal than someone who is a specialist. This can obviously extend out to other disciplines, maybe I'm a generalist on the business side and I understand how product and marketing work, but I'm weak on my technical knowledge. I think that, due to the fact that the tools are more sprawled out, you need to either be in a team that can use those tools effectively or as an individual you need to be very good at prioritizing what the best tools are in order to derive a solution. I think being aware of your strengths and limitations is key, and this is something that comes with time and experience.