The gifts of Eph 4

Eph 4:
11 and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as shepherds and teachers,
12 unto the perfecting of the saints, for a work of ministration, for a building up of the body of the Christ,
13 till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fulness of the Christ,
14 that we may no more be babes, tossed and borne about by every wind of the teaching, in the sleight of men, in craftiness, unto the artifice of leading astray,
15 and, being true in love, we may increase to Him in all things, who is the head—the Christ;
16 from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body doth make for the building up of itself in love.

First of all, I would like to point out an incident in Acts that highlights your proposition that a person strong in one area might be a big flop in another. It appears to me that the point of this passage is that the apostles so bungled the "daily administration" that the Greek widows were murmuring (heading quickly toward a crescendo), so they "thought fast" and said that it was miserable for them to do this kind of administration, and that they should find laymen to do it:

Acts 6:
1 ¶ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason [it is disagreeable] that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

But more importantly, it is my considered opinion that the Eph 4 passage in question refers to a work that ended with Paul. Note what he says about the expiration of these roles:

Eph 4:13 Till [Until] we all come [aorist] in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Note that, having come, the job at hand is "to maintain":

Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Note the roles:

* apostles: it is clear to me that there were only 13 apostles; one fell, and one was "born out of time." The word signifies someone with great authority to act on behalf of the one who sent them. Paul had a commission to create the "Assembly" and he did so. He was the last of the apostles. This role lasted only until the end of the lives of the 13.

* prophets: Paul says that while all may prophesy, there were only some that were prophets, and again, that role ends with the apostles.

* evangelists, pastors and teachers: Given the expiration date he gives in verse 13, these, as the 2 prior roles clearly do, refer specifically to the 13.

If I am correct, then the purpose of these unique ones was to create the assembly and deliver the faith, once and for all, giving them the word of God.

NLT Eph 4:12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ,

These roles have expired. The work has been done. If anyone claims any of these roles, they do not recognize the body of Christ and are imposters. This is the way that the post-apostolic body is to operate:

Eph 4:
14 that we may no more be babes, tossed and borne about by every wind of the teaching, in the sleight of men, in craftiness, unto the artifice of leading astray,
15 and, being true in love, we may increase to Him in all things, who is the head—the Christ;
16 from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body doth make for the building up of itself in love.