Malcolm Tutt

What is a 'T' shaped person? Wikipedia - The concept of T-shaped skills, or T-shaped persons is a metaphor used in job recruitment to describe the abilities of persons in the workforce. The vertical bar on the T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own. The earliest reference is by David Guest in 1991. Tim Brown, CEO of the IDEO design consultancy defended this approach to résumé assessment as a method to build interdisciplinary work teams for creative processes. In the 1980s and probably earlier, the term "T-shaped man" was used internally by McKinsey & Company for recruiting and developing consultants and partners. So in plain English; the vertical of the 'T' is your speciality and the horizontal is your knowledge and experience. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Let's start with what I think are attributes of a 'T' shaped person .... Collaborators and Networkers 'T' shaped people know how to use relationships and collaborate. 'T'shaped people know when to reach out to experts. They are comfortable with the boundaries of their knowledge. Strong 'T' shaped people are more likely to have less hand-offs.The wider and deeper a persons knowledge the less likely they will need to consult early and wait to proceed with a piece of work. As well as this, I think that a strong 'T' will speed up the engagement with SME's. This ability places less pressure on the 'T' shaped persons network. Problem solvers 'T' shaped people are better problem solvers. I think is a combinatin of traits. Willingness to seek answers early, ease of engagement with SME's, a desire to get to the bottom of things and to understand more. 'T' shaped people will often find themselves being a soudning board. People are likely to come and ask "Can I bounce something off you please?" Innovators Creatives I suspect that 'T' shaped people are more likely to be creative when solving problems. Creative? maybe out of the box thinking is a better definition. HOW DO I BECOME 'T' SHAPED? Make the decision your 'T' belongs to you! Only you can develop it and harness it's potential. Curiosity If it doesn't tickle your curiosity don't bother with it! You are less likely to sustain any effort if it doesn't interest you! Stay interested Once you decide that the subject is something you would like to know more about, make the concsious decision to investigate, either read, watch a webinar (or more than one) Dabble (Oxford Dcitionary defines dabble as to take a slight and not very serious interest in a subject) Read and understand what is going on in the world of your interests. Join a forum or two or more. Don't spread yourself, and try to learn to much at one time. Be happy when you have reached a point that you can have meaningful conversation with an SME on the subject. HOW DO I GROW AND MAINTAIN MY 'T' SHAPE? Listen to what is going on around you. If you not the kind of person to show out that you you dont' understand or want more information, quickly grab your phone or tablet and Google, yes Google! Right after the meeting or discussion make contact woth the SME and have the courage ton say "I wasn't following the coonversati9on but have done a little research. Stop, step back and assess Every so often sit back and evaluate you 'T'. Are you getting a bit lopsided? Are you just researching in growing in the areas that interest you? Is you speciality growing at the correct rate? Are you staying relevant? If you think not do soemthing about it .... Abandon Don't dabble too long if you do you will be wasaitng time. Guard against being pushed to gain understanding that you cannot see the value for. If you do start out and loose interest or cannot see the value STOP! MUST I BE 'T' SHAPED TO SUCCEED? NO! But I have a sense that if you don't put at least a little effort into broadening your horizons you will struggle. Two parting thoughts 'T' shaped people are not "know it alls" they have an ability to review quickly and respond or admit that they don't have the answers. 'T' shaped leaders will say "Let's go find out together" Is being 'T' shaped only to do with your job and career? Have you ever sat with someone and had a conversation around many things and found it interesting and stimulating? Maybe that person has a well shaped 'T'? Image courtesy of http://bilal.eltayara.net