I like to think of any company or position as a combination of Visions, Strategies, and Tactics. Visions are why you’re doing what you’re doing. Strategies are what you’re doing. Tactics are how you’re doing it.
In my own working life, I’ve realized that I can only dedicate myself to driving tactical items forward, thinking through strategies, or developing a vision at any specific time. I can’t think about how to change the world and then go and build that change within one day or perhaps more accurately; I cannot do both of those well.
I don’t think I’m alone in this either. And it makes sense. It’s similar to saying that you can’t be a fantastic engineer and a fantastic salesperson at the same time. However, you can be a great engineer who decides to focus on sales and turns into a great salesperson. But by the time this transition happens, you’re likely lagging on the freshest tech, and other engineers outperform you. On the other hand, you could be a great engineer who decides to pick up sales activities in a small company – but you’d never be as good at that activity as someone who is a great salesperson.
The stratification of work is similar. An amazing builder is going to have time thinking about architecture. They are going to be in the weeds on “how to get something done”, rather than thinking about “what should be done”. Can you do both? Sure… but in the end, you’re not going to be doing either of those roles justice on a daily basis. Focusing on one of these areas will ensure that you’re making yourself the best you can be.