T-Shaped Skills

T-shaped skills are often mentioned in business contexts as an obviously beneficial and desirable thing for employees to have, especially senior leadership. However, this term is often used loosely and without much fidelity to its actual meaning. This is unfortunate, because T-shaped skills are sincerely valuable, and a better understanding of them can help us to cultivate them going forward.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the proper definition of T-shaped skills. We’ll also look at some examples, as well as ways to develop T-shaped skills.

T-Shaped Skills Meaning

The T-shaped skills meaning derives from the physical shape of the letter capital T. Obviously, a T consists of a vertical line that bisects a horizontal line above it. The vertical line represents deep knowledge and expertise about a specific industry, discipline, or subject area. The horizontal line refers to a broader diversity of knowledge and skills. Combining these two dimensions empowers individuals to excel in the area of their specialty, while also enabling them to enhance their efficacy by collaborating with people from other disciplines and backgrounds.

To appreciate how these skills are valued in real-world concepts, consider the approach to T-shaped skills at McKinsey. Consultants at McKinsey are all expected to have deep expertise in some specific area of specialization. They are also expected to complement this specialization with a broader array of knowledge, experience, and competence. This enables them to perform well in multidisciplinary contexts that involve new and multidimensional challenges.

T-Shaped Skills Example

To better understand what’s meant by T-shaped skills, let’s consider some T-shaped skills examples. One T-shaped skills example is a consultant who has deep expertise in finance, and who works as CEO of a company that manufactures consumer goods. In order to turn his financial acumen into an array of T-shaped skills, this CEO adds in knowledge of various dimensions of his business and his role. These include operations, the consumer goods market, technology, communication, data analysis, decision-making, leadership, and more. This combination enables the CEO to lead a highly adaptive team that brings all the necessary facets together to operate successfully in the consumer goods industry.

What Are Two Ways to Develop T-Shaped Skills?

Okay, at this point, you’re probably thinking that T-shaped skills sound great, but you need something more practical in order to better understand how to develop T-shaped skills and harness them for yourself. So, then, what are two ways to develop T-shaped skills?

Continuing Education

All too many professionals fall prey to the trap of early success. They rest on their laurels and presume their early success demonstrates they have everything it takes to succeed. In reality, there is a limitless amount of learning we can be doing, which is important, since no condition (economic or otherwise) persists unchanged for long. By continuously learning about a variety of different fields that are related to your area of expertise, you will develop your ability to apply your special knowledge and skills with more diversity and adaptivity. Some methods of continuing to educate yourself include pursuing higher education, attending workshops and seminars, taking advantage of online educational offerings, and reading widely & relentlessly.

Cross-Functional Experience

It may be tempting to remain in a role where you’ve found success, but you may soon find that your skills have grown stale or impotent. You can develop T-shaped skills by seeking out and embracing opportunities to broaden your exposure to new roles, challenges, skills, concepts, industries, and fields of knowledge. If you have the chance to join a team or project that takes you out of your comfort zone, consider the benefits of adding the skills and knowledge you’re likely to gain through the experience. Seek out new partners, new markets, new environments, new departments, new perspectives, and new subjects.

T-Shaped Skills Model

To put it all together, let’s look at a T-shaped skills model, which represents the combination of different competencies that will help you build and harness T-shaped skills in yourself.

Vertical Line

Deep Expertise. This refers to an especially strong range of education, experience, and skills in a particular field or area.

Horizontal Line

Supplementary Skills. This line contains all the additional skills outside your area of deepest specialty. These can include communication skills, leadership/management skills, collaborative skills, problem-solving skills, and more. They can also include more specific competences, such as mathematical or financial literacy, multiple languages, technological skills like programming, and more.

Conclusion

Your journey through academia may have demonstrated that the world is tending more in the direction of specialization. But in the business world, the most successful people combine multiple kinds of skills and knowledge to increase the power of their entire arsenal. This is the essence of T-shaped skills. By combining an area of deep expertise with additional skills in other areas, you can apply your deep expertise in more effective and diverse ways. And this is sure to give you an edge throughout your career.

Additional Resources:

• Problem Solving: Essential Consulting Skills
• Communication Skills
• Top Business Skills In Demand
• Consulting Resume: Complete Guide