"If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will not be great at anything."
The above quote is the first line in the book Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. It reminds me of the phrase, "Jack of all trades, master of none." Taking into account the last 12 years I have been in some kind of leadership position, I have come to realize the truth of this quote. If we attempt to excel in too many subjects, we can potentially achieve a well-rounded understanding, and even articulate the subjects well. However, we will eventually come to a fork in the road where the paths of each subject branch out into different directions. And, no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to keep our feet on multiple paths.
Here is a simple example; as a person working on a PhD in Old Testament studies, I realize, no matter how much I desire to do so, I cannot be an expert of both the Old Testament and New Testament. In fact, I am not even sure I can be an expert in the entire Old Testament. It goes beyond knowing Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and some Ugaritic, Akkadian, Moabite, and Phoenician. For me to be an "expert" in, for example, the Torah is to take the much needed time to study, understand, and be a part of everything the Torah encompasses. The necessary time to be an expert of the Torah would take away from the necessary time to be an expert in the prophets, or wisdom and poetic literature, or the historical books.
I believe as leaders we need to live a life of continually learning. However, we cannot chase after the wind. Focusing on a few subjects in which to excel while maintaining a discipline of being teachable is what it takes to master few things well.
