I Know What I Don’t Do: The Power of Saying “That’s Not My Specialty”

Fuel Your Curiosity Newsletters
Written By michele ronsen

Editor's note:​
Last month I wrote that research roles are forking. Researchers who build. Researchers who evaluate. Researchers who move upstream into the hard-to-scope questions. Different work, same underlying skill: deciding what good looks like, then defending that definition.

Here's what that forking looked like for me on Friday.

 
My Lane vs. Not My Lane graphic with shoes
 

TLDR: Calling out where you don't excel protects your relationships, your pipeline, and the quality of the work. It also tends to earn you more of both.

I'm currently on a deep, juicy diary study with an agency I've come to truly respect.

The director of research Slacked me to ask if I consider myself a quant researcher too. We'd mostly discussed my qualitative background.

I said no. Mixed-methods.

I lead surveys. I design them, field them, synthesize them, and connect them back to the decision they're meant to inform. I don't lead advanced statistical modeling at scale. If a project needs significance testing at scale, conjoint, MaxDiff, or regression-based segmentation, I'd pair with a specialist. Happy to learn on the job, but I know my limits.

Then I named four recent projects where I played that role:

  • A 516-respondent website IA and messaging survey across 7 audience segments. Mixed structured items and open text. Segment-level findings, confidence tiering, testing roadmap, analytics recommendations. Phase 2 was a 76-session unmoderated study informed by the survey.

  • A 100+ person survey of payroll, HR, and finance professionals at mid-market and emerging enterprise companies, informing an expansion into the Large Employer segment. Insights deck plus a drill-down vulnerabilities synthesis.

  • The qualitative engagement I'm wrapping up this month (for this agency).

  • A multi-market AI evaluation project across North America, the Middle East, Japan, and Korea.

She Slacked back: "This is really helpful."

Then: "I'd love to have you roll onto another project."

Then she asked if I had referrals for quant specialists, which I'd just said I was not.

The reflex when a client probes your skill set is to stretch. I understand it. I've felt it many times. I have stretch marks on my face! But here's what happens when I resist:

Clients can tell when you're overclaiming. Not always on the first call. But by week three, for sure, when the method or industry they expected you to handle easily is one you'd actually need weeks (or more) to feel fluent in.

By then you've lost two things that are hard to earn back: their time and their trust.

Here's what I lead, and what I pair with an expert on:

Lead:

  • Research planning, question design, and scoping

  • Mixed-methods integration

  • Qual studies at scale across multi-segment samples

  • Surveys with large samples and multi-segment analysis

  • Synthesis across quant and qual

  • Framing findings for product decisions

  • AI eval work where the hard parts are defining what good means and catching where the definition itself is incomplete

Pair with a specialist:

  • Advanced statistical modeling at scale (significance testing, conjoint, MaxDiff, regression-based segmentation)

  • Formal psychometric scale development

  • Large-sample survey work where the primary deliverable is modeled segmentation or driver analysis

That list is how I respond when a client asks. It's also how I filter inbound requests.

The ask

This trusted agency partner is building out their quant contractor pool. Immediate need, starting late October or early November:

  • US-based quant researcher

  • B2C strategy project, partnered with a qual researcher and designer

  • Survey with a large sample, segmentation, and significance testing

  • Starting late October or early November

  • Contract role

NOTE: They are looking for multiple quant independents. The above is just one of their quant needs.

If this is your expertise and you're open to contract work, reply to this email or DM me on LinkedIn with your name, a one-line description of your quant chops, and a link to your resume and any work you can share. I'll refer you directly.

If this isn't your expertise but you know someone who fits, forward this to them.

Then try writing your own list. Read it out loud and keep it handy. See what happens the next time a client asks about some skill or experience not on it.

Stay Curious,
Michele

PS. BUILD Like A Pro runs again in late October. Reply if you want first dibs when registration opens.

Speak up, get involved, and share the love!


michele ronsen
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Learn the lingo: Evaluative Research