What’s Your Shape?
Discover more from Fixed to Flow
👋 Hey there,
As we discover who we are and how to shape our world, the world evolves and shapes us.
Throughout human history, we’ve moved from social self-sustainability to almost absolute dependence on a globalized world. And we needed a north star to make it possible. Efficiency was practically a religion until a couple of years ago. Not anymore.
Today’s challenges are different. Still complicated but exponentially more complex. And complexity can't be tackled with a strict process or by following a roadmap.
We need multidisciplinary diversity and experimentation to sense and respond to uncertainty. Efficiency is still important, but resilience and robustness are the driving forces.
How do we face these challenges? What shapes do we need to continue to evolve? Analytically, we can identify four major roles:
Experts who have deep knowledge, skills, or experience in a specific subject or area.
T-shaped professionals who have broad knowledge and skills across multiple areas and deep expertise in a specific subject or skill.
Versatiles, who share characteristics with t-shaped professionals but also have two or more areas of deep expertise and a significant capacity to adapt to new situations,
Generalists who have a broad range of knowledge and skills across multiple domains but no deep expertise in any area.
However, language often lags behind reality, causing people to use terminology that may not accurately describe their shape. Usually, versatiles refer to themselves as generalists or t-shaped (guilty as charged) — which is perfectly okay. Precision is as crucial as nurturing a common vocabulary we all understand.
All roles are necessary for shaping our destiny. But we can't ignore the doors opened by the ever-evolving technology. They give us the freedom to unleash our true selves. And express the multitudes we have within us.
And what about you; what's your shape?
Stay strong, Gus