I feel the tech industry will have spiky teams in the future, i.e., teams with candidates who are 5/5 in some areas rather than 3/5 across everything.
A candidate who holds 5/5 in databases and 2/5 in low-level design is more valuable than someone who is a solid 3/5 across the board. The 3/5 person seems to be a safe bet, but it would be nearly impossible to drive outsized impact with a fully balanced individual.
The thesis is simple - extreme strengths are rare and hard to develop. A 2/5 weakness can often be coached up to a 3/5 with time. But you cannot coach someone into being exceptional at something.
So, as the world becomes more aggressive and cutthroat, well-rounded candidates will create an impedance mismatch. They fit everywhere but excel nowhere. A team of 3/5 generalists will be competent (no doubt), but highly unlikely to be remarkable.
The better bet would be to hire people with sharp edges, pair them with teammates whose spikes complement their gaps, and coach up the soft spots over time to become average.
Exceptional ones have never looked balanced on paper.