The T-shaped skill is a powerful concept to all who want to build a diverse skill set while still having a valuable specialization.
If you have never heard of T-Shaped people before, don't worry. We are happy to expand upon what they are and the benefits of becoming one. At ezTagile, we are not solely about agile. When it comes to who we are, our values, and the type of people we embrace in our culture, we are very calculated and very complex. We focus on upholding a high standard to protect our transparent, collaborative, and exploratory culture. The value of this model is also reflected in our trademark, “ezTagile” where the orange T represents “Tailoring” and the T-shaped organizational model emphasizes building deep expertise and a wide knowledge base to create business agility across organizations.
What is a T-shaped Person?
When you picture a T, not only does it have breadth (a horizontal dimension), but it also has depth (a vertical dimension), and that is exactly what we are looking for in our team.
At ezTagile, we make sure that our team has top-tier interpersonal skills such as empathy, leadership, positive attitude, teamwork, etc., just as we make sure they are professionally qualified through certifications and other technical skills.
We know how important it is for our ezT family to have many skills such as communication, perspective, and critical thinking. These are the interpersonal skills that are necessary regardless of industry, which constitutes the breadth of the T. The depth of the T covers being proficient/expert in one discipline, this is where the technical skills come into play, like certifications and experience in a particular industry.
Overall, we have noticed that individuals that commit to being T-shaped can get the benefits of specialization and generalization.
Qualities of a T-shaped person
Team Players. Because the team has a broad range of knowledge, collaboration is easier
Creative Thinking Skills. After all, the greatest ideas happen at the intersection of disciplines, and it comes again with building deep expertise and a wide knowledge base
Workplace Flexibility. There is no doubt that a team with T-shaped skills is happy to take new tasks and help others in their team to make sure that the overall goals are met
Good Communicators. Because they can deal with other people and understand their needs, they can discuss projects and concerns across the entire company with empathy
To sum it all up, we have found that the best teams are comprised of individuals with the complete package; people with hard and soft skills. If you're looking to build this kind of team, look for people with specific abilities, emotional and communicative competence, and critical thinking. Embracing the T-Shaped model has served ezTagile well in building depth and breadth in business agility across our organization and it can do the same for yours.