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The Generalist World Pod

The Generalist World Pod

Written by: Milly Tamati
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About this listen

The podcast for people who don't fit in a box at work! Welcome to the Generalist World pod, where we interview high-performing generalists from the GW community carving out careers on their own terms.


You'll learn what's working right now, find inspiration from generalist pathways, and get tactical frameworks to progress your own career.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Milly Tamati
Careers Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Success Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • How to build a team that actually wants to work for you
    Jan 26 2026

    What you'll learn:

    1. How to turn around failing teams by implementing honest leadership, accessible office hours, and graceful exit rituals
    2. Why building roles around people instead of business needs creates unsustainable organizational structures
    3. The CHAOS framework for systematically delegating, automating, or eliminating work that doesn't serve you
    4. How training managers on hiring, retention, and self-management creates exponentially better team outcomes
    5. Why teams must be healthy before they can be happy, and happy before they can be high-performing
    6. How to budget correctly for hiring by adding 6-9 months to cover recruitment time and potential mishires
    7. The critical distinction between solving today's problems with contractors versus building tomorrow's team with full-time hires
    8. Why psychological safety and constructive disagreement are prerequisites for high-performing teams, not optional perks


    Some takeaways:

    1. Turn around toxic team cultures through radical honesty and permission to exit.
    2. Invest your leadership time in training managers, not doing their work.
    3. Implement weekly office hours where you only listen.
    4. Design graceful exits as carefully as you design onboarding.
    5. Stop building roles around people and start building around business needs.
    6. Budget for hiring reality, not hiring fantasy.
    7. Apply the CHAOS framework quarterly to reclaim your time and focus.
    8. Prioritise healthy teams over happy teams, and happy teams over high-performing teams.
    9. Recognise that chaotic structures inevitably lead to savage restructures.




    Links:

    Where to find Neda

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nedasahebelm/
    • keshty: https://www.keshty.com/
    • Newsletter: https://theminoritymisfit.beehiiv.com/subscribe
    • @nedasahebelm if people want to follow her on IG!

    Where to find Milly

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-tamati/
    • Website: http://www.millytamati.com/

    Generalist World resources:

    • Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qbGzMUMDCK5v3XbvRANmD?si=b1d7af51c24e43ee
    • The Generalist Quiz: https://www.generalistquiz.com/
    • Essays: https://www.generalistcareer.com/
    • Upcoming events: https://lu.ma/generalist.events
    • Positioning Guidebook: https://www.generalist.world/positioning

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    48 mins
  • The community operator who made Milly "redundant"
    Nov 27 2025

    What you'll learn:

    1. How to build community with members rather than for them by co-creating value from the earliest stages
    2. Why successful community metrics focus on connections between members, not engagement rates or post volume
    3. The "win-win-win" framework for designing community programs that serve members, partners, and the organisation
    4. How small teams leverage member-led initiatives to scale impact without burning out
    5. Why community building requires slow, sustained effort rather than quick returns like social media marketing
    6. The power of designing business operations around life priorities rather than sacrificing personal well-being
    7. How to identify if you're truly a "community person" by examining your emotional response to connecting with others
    8. Strategic approaches to making founders and leaders "redundant" by building self-sustaining community systems


    Some takeaways:

    1. Community requires fundamental mindset shifts from traditional growth strategies.
    2. Peer support within niche communities addresses isolation that broader networks cannot solve.
    3. The most valuable community metric is connection density between members, not platform engagement.
    4. Member-led programming scales impact while building ownership and deeper engagement.
    5. Small teams achieve outsized impact through strategic "win-win-win" thinking and clear constraints.
    6. Community cultures must balance consistency with experimentation to maintain energy and prevent stagnation.
    7. Businesses should plan life first, profit second and impact third to achieve sustainable community leadership.
    8. Breaking into community work requires emotional alignment more than specific skills or credentials.


    Links:

    Where to find Ece

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecekurtaraner/

    Where to find Milly

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-tamati/
    • Website: http://www.millytamati.com/

    Generalist World resources:

    • Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qbGzMUMDCK5v3XbvRANmD?si=b1d7af51c24e43ee
    • The Generalist Quiz: https://www.generalistquiz.com/
    • Essays: https://www.generalistcareer.com/
    • Upcoming events: https://lu.ma/generalist.events
    • Positioning Guidebook: https://www.generalist.world/positioning


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    36 mins
  • How to build a satisfying, sustainable career as a mid-life generalist
    Nov 20 2025

    What You'll Learn

    1. How to leverage your network's second-degree connections rather than direct contacts when job hunting as a generalist
    2. Why the 50+ demographic represents untapped talent with unique adaptability forged through decades of technological change
    3. How to position yourself as the "wild card candidate" when working with recruiters who prefer specialists
    4. Why listing multiple companies on LinkedIn actually increases your visibility to executive search firms
    5. How generalist skills become increasingly valuable in senior leadership roles where cross-functional translation is essential
    6. Why saying yes to opportunities that don't make immediate sense creates unexpected career pathways
    7. How to lead teams of specialists without competing with their expertise through humility and translation
    8. Why micro-networks like Generalist World are replacing broad platforms as the future of professional networking


    Some Takeaways

    1. Network relationships operate on delayed reciprocity and trust-building.
    2. Recruiters use LinkedIn as a competitor-mining tool, which disadvantages generalists but creates specific opportunities.
    3. The 50+ workforce faces structural disadvantages from demographic homogeneity in hiring rather than intentional ageism.
    4. Career progression for generalists follows a counterintuitive pattern where early-career sacrifice leads to senior-level advantage.
    5. Business failure is contextual and environmental rather than purely execution-based, making timing and market positioning crucial.
    6. Professional micro-networks are replacing broad platforms as the primary value creation mechanism in career development.
    7. Leading specialist teams requires deliberate humility and role clarity around being the translator rather than the smartest person.
    8. Career resilience requires accepting that lows make highs better while maintaining benchmarks for when to pivot.
    9. The entrepreneurship explosion driven by AI and shifting employment norms creates new pathways for midlife generalists.


    Links:

    Where to find Jonathan

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsimpsontarling/
    • Twitter: https://x.com/JSimpsonTarling

    Where to find Milly

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-tamati/
    • Website: http://www.millytamati.com/

    Generalist World resources:

    • Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qbGzMUMDCK5v3XbvRANmD?si=b1d7af51c24e43ee
    • The Generalist Quiz: https://www.generalistquiz.com/
    • Essays: https://www.generalistcareer.com/
    • Upcoming events: https://lu.ma/generalist.events
    • Positioning Guidebook: https://www.generalist.world/positioning




    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    39 mins
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