And now, enter the versatilist manager

Executives need to handle technical and business issues.

What will managers of the future be like: Specialists, generalists or some hybrid variety? Nandan Nilekani, CEO and MD of Infosys Technologies, had said while speaking at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore recently, that what the world required today was a new breed of hybrid manager"" the 'versatilist'.

Thomas L Friedman, the New York Times columnist, had written in his book, 'The World is Flat"" A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century', that cheap telecommunications had obliterated all impediments to international competition and helped countries like India and China to have a major say in the global economy. The "flat world," Friedman says, is a place where "economic stability is not going to be a feature."

"Rugged, adaptable entrepreneurs... will be empowered," Friedman wrote. Hence, Nilekani said, "Successful managers of the future need to be of a third kind"" versatilists."

Explaining the traits a versatilist should possess, Nilekani said, "A versatilist has the ability to apply skills more intensively to situations. Hence, they gain new competencies, build new relationships, and assume new roles. One should be equally at ease with technical issues as with business and strategic. You have to synthesize knowledge, experience and the context to create value."

The higher up an individual moves in an organisation, the more he needs to look at the big picture, understand more than one role and develop skills relevant to it"" and the more he can be likened to an octopus with each tentacle dealing with a different aspect of the business. The need is to apply a plethora of roles and skills to create a new way of solving problems or taking decisions.

"A different experience in different roles allows a person's mind to look at the same situation from an altogether different angle," says Madan Padaki, co-founder and director of MeritTrac, India's largest skills assessment firm.

He believes that versatilists have always existed in organisations, and the only difference today is that organisations are increasingly recognising the need for them.

Versatilists must be able to wear many hats at the same time and gain new competencies. They are, in a way, jack of all trades, adds Sampath Shetty, vice-president, permanent staffing business unit, TeamLease Services: "Versatilist managers are multi-taskers. They have the capability to multi-task, as required by organisations."

In 21st century companies, the ability to climb up the executive ladder quickly, he believes, will depend on being able to work on specialisations beyond his core job.