I really appreciate this article, both for the topic and the honest treatment of both the upsides and downsides. My path could probably be labeled as that of a polymath, and one of the tough realities I’ve had to come to terms with recently is the constant imposter syndrome I feel. While my friends were building deep relationships and reputations in their professions, I have chosen instead to optimize for steep learning curves. The bargain I’ve made with myself is that the cost of following my interests is that I may never feel like an insider, but that if I focus on my curiosity there’s less room for the question of whether I deserve to be in the room.

I would disagree with one argument for being a polymath: overspecialisation. In the PhD example, I’d say the relevant expertise is almost never the highly specialised topic that was studied, but instead the experience of tackling a messy problem and breaking it down into a multi-year program of investigation, often with very little chance of success. For experiences that require a reputation and track record to unlock (like many in management and leadership), being a polymath may make some of these opportunities less accessible. Either way, I agree completely that there is a trade-off here and I love that the author is socialising a path less traveled.