So firstly, what is a T shaped person? Like the letter T, T shapers stretch out along both sides with general knowledge of other areas but have depth and mastery in one area.
If you want to be T shaped, you will reap the rewards of specialisation and generalisation, while avoiding the limitations of being only a specialist or generalist. In a 2018 HBR article “Generalists appear to be relatively successful as long as the pace of change is not too rapid, but their productivity decreases when the pace of change increases.”
Think of it as a “Jack (or Jill) of all trades, master of one.” The benefits of being T shaped include but are not limited to:
You collaborate better with others. As you learn other people's skills you can speak in their (skill-orientated) language.
You have greater variety and experiences through cross-training your brain and skillset.
Your ideas are more innovative, because you will have one foot outside your small World of specialisation.
If you are only exceptional in one area, then you are an "I" shaped person, also known as ignorant. That sounded harsh. But if you are reading this far, you probably are already looking outside of your specialty area. You need to consider what your goals are. What is most important to you?
To know nothing about anything
To know something about one thing
To know something about lots of things
To know lots about lots and be exceptional at one thing
In business, being a T shaped person will see you grow your career and opportunities. The value of breath and depth has never been more compelling. More and more I am hearing of businesses needing to do more with less. This has many undertones but gone are the days of having silo positions that emulate a production line. Now it is expected that most professionals have the nous to be able to understand the concepts and do the ground work without having to rely on the finance team, or the lawyer, or the sales person.
In every role and organisation you can start building your T shape.
Where do you start? Firstly, take a pen and paper and do the following exercise.
Write down on a list all the headline business areas within your organisation or an organisation you want to work for. Then rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5, your general understanding of these areas. 1 being low, 5 being high. An area where you are a 5 could be your exceptional space or one you have mastered, the others will demonstrate your T stretch.
I have compiled a short list to get you started below, please also include areas like “current day affairs, news, politics” as they add to your general knowledge toolkit. Also look around to your colleagues, who is leading a part of the business you find interesting but don’t feel you know much about?
Sales
Marketing
Finance
Law
Human Resources
Psychology / human behaviour / leading people
Business strategy
Governance
Risk and assurance
Policy
Innovation
Technology
Industry / sector / market activity
Current affairs / news / politics Following this exercise, circle the top 3 you feel are important. Start small and then seek out opportunities to learn about these. You could learn on the job by shadowing or asking to get involved in other parts of the business. Or the internet has a myriad of articles, blogs, pod casts and so on that could help broaden your knowledge.
To start the journey, just do one little thing every day that goes towards your T shape.
I guarantee that you if you read one article a day on your chosen topic it would elevate your awareness and understanding. If you enjoy the content and find it interesting then it forms part of your T shape. If the opposite happens and it’s draining and not fun. Then stop, don’t force yourself if you aren’t having fun. Remember that not everything will float your boat or shape your T.
From my own experiences I know this process works. I have used it many times in my career to broaden out my own T. Public speaking was one that was a gap for me, so slowly I sought out small opportunities, then bigger opportunities to practice. It's not my specialty but I can do it with confidence. I can also understand and support others when they need to do public speaking.
Thanks for reading, if you are interested in more ways to Think Ascend, subscribe to my mailing list for more T shaping content.