T-Shaped, but in the 4th dimension

When Bill Moggridge and Tim Brown first supported David Guests observation that the future needed T Shaped people who understood both Technology and Design it was prescient.

The chasms that grew between technological systems, information, data, experience and departments are still growing and it is the role of more and more people to act as translator and integrator.

But I’d like to share an observation that T-Shaped is in reality a snap shot of someone in motion not an end state of being.

Many people built on Guest’s idea, I’ve read about H shaped, E shaped, double T shaped, but they all suffer from the same problem.

In my experience, when I focus time and energy on growing my empathetic skills my core skills suffer a little. The same for the reverse, when I dig too deep into my core skills my empathetic understanding wains.

This is because core skills are a practice not a prize, you don’t gain them and keep them, by practicing them you can maintain the muscle. We can be momentarily T-Shaped, but within a process of adapting and shaping our skills.

I personally like to think of ability (my time and energy) as clay, you can mould it, reshape it, but the clay has a limited volume. Time and energy are limited - and the key unlocking the exponent is understanding what position or shape you’re in.

By focusing my time and energy I can adapt to what’s needed at any given moment, investing in both core craft and broader understanding. As I build my focusing muscle I find it easier to reshape my abilities on demand.

So when you’re hiring, don’t look for T-Shaped people, look for people who are in progress, people who try to adopt using a process they understand to manage and mould their skills over time. They maybe fully I shaped, or just a crossbar, but if they comprehend that, and understand the journey to get to what’s needed that’s better than a T-Shaped résumé.

Hire People who are ready to reshape to the needs of the moment.