T Shaped People

T Shaped PeopleAgenda Concept. Origin. Benefits. Drawbacks and fixes. How to become one.

The term T Shaped refers to a person who holds a thorough knowledge and strong skill-set in one area, but can also work beyond their area of expertise to collaborate in numerous other disciplines or fields. The vertical bar of the T represents the depth of a skill and the horizontal bar represents the persons ability to collaborate and apply knowledge across disciplines outside of their normal field.Concept

The earliest reference is by David Guest in 1991.The credited for its popularity goes to Tim Brown CEO of IDEO an internationaldesignandconsulting firmfounded inCalifornia.

We look for people who are so inquisitive about the world that theyre willing to try to do what you do. We call them T-shaped people. They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T theyre mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need.Origin

Improved communication and collaboration. Improved flexibility.Less risk.Fewer bottlenecks.Benefits

Improved communication and collaboration. They have a good grasp of how everything fits together. As a result they will typically have a greater understanding and appreciation of what their teammates are working on.They are willing to listen to and work with their teammates because they know that they'll likely learn something new. Benefits

Improved flexibility. More self organizing and cross functional the team is more it can work flexibly to perform.Benefits

Less risk. A team comprising of such people will work together, learning from each other as they do so. This lowers overall risk because there is less information, greater knowledge of the system amongst individual team members, and growing skills amongst team members.Benefits

Fewer bottlenecks. If more people can work on all or more problem area in a team less is the chance of waiting for a specialist to do it all in any particular are.Benefits

Not all "T"s are EqualIdentity CrisisKnowing Vs DoingCollaboration Vs DelegationHaving Right Tools

Drawbacks and fixes

Not all "T"s are EqualNo one will be a perfect T-shape. This is a fact of life, someone stronger in one area while moderate in other. So each team will have a different experience depending on which T-shape employee is assigned it.Fix:ongoing trainingProcess for filling in knowledge gaps

Drawbacks and fixes

Identity CrisisNot all people will accurately know their skillsets. Some will think they possess a much wider general knowledge base while others a much deeper understanding of a core topic than othersFix:Set clear expectationsWork with TeamDrawbacks and fixes

Knowing Vs DoingThey need not only be self-aware, but also need to have the confidence and inclination to act.Fix:Be consistently encouragingClearly state expectations

Drawbacks and fixes

Collaboration Vs DelegationT-shape people can often misunderstand "collaboration" as "delegation. Work together to get things done.Fix:Make sure peopleunderstand their T-shape capabilities.Avoid a culture of "you must be masters of everything"Drawbacks and fixes

Having Right ToolsT-shape Employees Can Only Succeed if They Have the Right ToolsFix:Give them access to the expertise they need to do their job.Encourage them to not only use them, but to speak up if they need additional tools.Drawbacks and fixes

Work closely with others.Take general introductory training.Gain hands-on experience.Obtain mentoring.Work in a learning team.Read, read, and read.Challenge yourself.Communicate.How to become one

Work closely with others.One of the best ways to learn a new skill is to work side-by-side with someone that already has that skill. One of the side benefits of agile practices such as pair programming and modeling with others is that you quickly learn new, practical skills.

How to become one

Take general introductory training.A good place to start learning is an introductory course. Professional training companies, colleges, and even conferences are very good sources of introductory training. Let your manager know that you are interested in taking training courses; that way when the budget exists you may be given an opportunity to do so.

How to become one

Gain hands-on experience.You can read all you want, and you should, and take lots of training courses, but you do not really learn something until you try it.How to become one

Obtain mentoring.A mentor is someone experienced with a given technique or technology who guides novices through the learning process. The best mentors have several years of experience in the technologies and techniques, mentoring experience, and good communication skills.How to become one

Work in a learning team.An effective way to learn new skills is to work in a learning team, a small group of people given the task of working together to learn a particular subject. Learning teams are often asked to produce a small application for the company.How to become one

Read, read, and read.For your learning efforts to be successful you must read, read, read. You should read a wide range of books. Read atleast one book a month just to keep up with changes in the industry. Also read technical magazines such asSoftware Developmentand business magazines such asFortuneandThe Economist. The Web also a good source for a lot of great material available free of charge.

How to become one

Challenge yourself.Challenge yourself to constantly learn new things. Do not be afraid of the unknown.

How to become one

Communicate.Do not take for granted that people will know what you are doingor what you want to do. Make it known. This means marketing yourself internally and letting everyone around you know what you want out of the current - and future - positions.How to become one

A Sci-Fi author Robert Heinlein quoted:"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." Ending Note