The T-Shaped Person: Building Deep Expertise AND a Wide Knowledge Base

The T-Shaped Person: Building Deep Expertise AND a Wide Knowledge Base

By way of instance, I’m fine with my basic cooking skills. I know enough to healthy cook with sufficient selection, and I’m not interested in getting the next Binging with Babish. As long as I cook I’ll keep my abilities no problem.

If you follow the above, you will be well on your way to becoming a T-shaped person.

You need to decide, once you’ve done this :
In the current article, I’m going to explain what at T-shaped person is, why it may help you, and how to begin your own T-shaped journey.
Because you’ve got a broad selection of knowledge, you understand to communicate with specialists in fields that are various. This makes collaboration. By way of instance, if you’re a history major (i.e., a background specialist) with a basic understanding of data visualization, you’re going to have the ability to work much more effectively with the computer science student helping you model a historical tendency for your final project.

1. Improvement

If you’re not knowledgeable about the difference between soft and hard skills, have a look at this article for a full introduction. Fundamentally, hard skills are specialized skills that you can readily measure (blog article writing, programming, design, DDR). You should be certain that your “T” has a fantastic mix of both. Personally, I’m likely to skew very hard toward only hard skills, so I need to make a concerted effort to build in some skill foundation that is soft as well.

So if you’re ready to “stretch yourself”, then let’s get started!
You experience the satisfaction of depth.  
Don’t let your key limit you.  
No, being a T-shaped person has nothing to do with badass robot body parts à la Terminator (at least not in this context).

How to Become a T-Shaped Person

What is a T-Shaped Person?

If you represent this depth and breadth visually, you get a “T” shape:
It can get monotonous, when you focus on one area. Variety is critical to keeping your mind engaged. As a T-shaped person, you always have other areas to dip into when you want a break from your specialty.

Image Credits: featured, collaboration, multiple avenues, field notes
There’s a classic idea in the arts (and in business) that the best ideas happen at the intersection of disciplines. When you’ve got a broad foundation of knowledge, you build immunity to the “paradox of expertise” where your advanced knowledge of one field clouds your ability to see new ideas. By way of instance, Vihart’s YouTube station shows you what happens at the meeting of math, music, and visual art.
Becoming a T-shaped man is like the supreme choose your own adventure game. The set of potential adventures and except the rules are not as clear is almost infinite.

Conclusion

4. Offer your specialty attention.

That doesn’t mean you need to be a chemistry specialist, just because you’re studying chemistry. You may enjoy thinking patterns and the understanding that you are taught by chemistry, but understand that you don’t wish to do it for a career. You might find layout for instance. Then find out about layout on the side, if that’s the case! Your major does not define you!

1. Where you would like to improve your knowledge/ability.
2. Where you comfortable keeping.
3. What you wish to add.
4. Where you need to go deep.

I dunno about you, but I’ve never been content only having one interest. I have always dabbled in lots of things. Over the years, these items have ranged from swimming to drawing to 3D modeling to rock climbing to article writing to internet business (to name only a few). Throughout all of that, however, writing stayed my focus, the thing that I would tell people I was “good at.”
I like to consider this T-shaped person as an improvement on the classic saying “Jack of all trades, master of none.” A T-shaped man is a “Jack of many trades, master of (at least) one.”
You will need to make developing your T-shaped self a habit. I make certain you check it off each day, and I use Beeminder to make sure I do those that I would otherwise knock on (currently these are learning Javascript and practicing Spanish).

Building a T-shaped set of abilities and knowledge is among the most valuable things you can do for your career and personal development. The combination of improved job prospects and intellectual engagement that is never-ending is something that people will only dream about, but you will have the ability to make it a reality through your habits and commitment to the procedure. I wish you success in your journey.

A T-shaped person has a broad base of general supporting knowledge/skills and in 1 area.
You’re more attractive to employers.  

2. Maintenance

3. Making your practice a habit is the first step, but if you wish to improve you will need to assess your progress regularly. Listed below are a few self-evaluation ideas:

1. Make it a tradition.

Now that we have those thoughts out there, let us enter the specifics. What does becoming a T-shaped man look like on a daily basis? I have found that the following are key to success:

For the space in you want to pay special attention. Also, seek out a mentor who can assist you once you have progressed past learning materials that are introductory.
3. Addition
If either of the above is the case, no worries. I’ll show you how you can start building your “T” in a moment. First, however, let us explore the benefits of being a T-shaped person, both in college and beyond

• If you would like to test a specific knowledge area, read a recent paper in the area and rate your comprehension of it from 1-5.
• Use the Feynman Technique: Take a piece of paper and write everything you know about the topic. You find the gaps in your own knowledge.
• Teach your ability to someone else.
• If you’re learning a language, record yourself talking about a random topic for 5 minutes (thanks to Martin for this suggestion).

There isn’t one answer. I can provide a general framework to you, however.
Or maybe a “dash” with varied general understanding but no specialization:

In some places, you’re perfectly pleased with your level and have not interest in going. This is fine. Don’t waste your time enhancing.

To perform your own self-assessment, download the spreadsheet here (to edit it, go to   File > Make a copy…).

When choosing what to learn, I would also incorporate these suggestions:

You remain interested.
Now that you’re excited about the benefits of becoming a T-shaped person, let’s move on to how to do it!
And bear in mind, this journey will be challenging at times. Don’t quit! The benefits are worth the struggle.
Ou want to be certain that your base places are specific enough to be useful (without being too specific). By way of instance, “computer skills” is too wide to form the foundation of your “T”. What type of computer skills? Photoshop? Data analysis? Web design? TPS report creation? You’ll learn to get this balance.

Finally, you want to identify the region where you would like to specialize. This is the “stem” of your “T”. You might already know what this area is (for me, it is content writing/storytelling). It might be an area; for example. Or it might be something you know nothing about but feel will be useful/interesting. Regardless, you will need to identify this area so that you can focus on it.
Mix soft and hard skills.

2. Work on projects.

Here is an example assessment I created based on my current skills and knowledge.

These are things you know nothing about but need to learn. They are the regions that you marked “0” next to in your self-assessment spreadsheet. You will need to learn them to make yourself a job candidate that is better, or you just interest. Whatever the reason, you wish to start learning. By way of instance, I wish to learn web development so that I can build cool projects to supplement my writing.

4. Depth

When you rated yourself for each of your existing regions, you probably noticed some that you wish were stronger. By way of instance, I’d love to improve rock climbing skills and my copywriting. So that you can start working on them make note of these regions in the spreadsheet.
It was not until recently, but that I heard there was a name for this phenomenon. I first came across it in an on the Buffer blog, and I’ve since seen it all across the internet (an example of the priming effect in activity). What is this term that is magical? It’s known as the T-shaped person, and I think it’s among the most powerful concepts for anyone who wants to construct a varied skill set while still having precious specialization.

Important note: Don’t let this framework limit you. While getting a T-shaped person will put you miles ahead of most students, you don’t need to stop at going on one skill. Just make sure you avoid the generalist snare and actually  go deep on a place before you opt to pursue equal depth in another.
We talk about habits   a lot here at CIG. But that is because they constitute such a huge portion of your life (40% of your daily actions, according to Duke University researchers). So once you take charge of your habits, you get power.
What is more, I realized that the people I respect were also, generally, into lots of things while specializing in a given area. People remember him for his writings on nature (Walden) and politics (Civil Disobedience), but the dude turned into history, biology, poetry, botany, travel, land surveying, and much more.

Then learn the basics of a few things that sound interesting, if you have no idea what you would like to go on. You find out which is worth putting more time into. This is similar to the advice for freshman unsure of what to major in: take an assortment of classes to figure out what you like.
When you commit to being T-shaped, you get the benefits of specialization and generalization, while avoiding the pitfalls of being a specialist or generalist. Here are just a few benefits:
Even as you get to move around to avoid getting bored, you get to experience the satisfaction that comes from diving area. The deeper you go, the more you realize how vast your field of knowledge is and there’s a lifetime of learning ahead. I find this super exciting, more thrilling than any video game or Netflix series. You want to give it a try, if you have never experienced this.

1 base area that I think   everybody  should have is that of being “well-read”. This hard your thoughts and builds the habit of curiosity. Read whatever interests you, but read across a variety of areas.

This occurs for two reasons. The first is that you’re going to have a standout resume compared to someone who focused on their important and never branched out. Consequently, you’ll have the ability to bring more to a job than someone who meets with the requirements the position specifies.
The details will differ from person to person. Indeed, if you’re just starting out, you may find that your knowledge/skill set looks more like an “I” (a specialist without overall knowledge):

Something like “learn rock climbing” is a huge, vague goal. So huge that it may feel impossible vague that it will be impossible should youn’t make it concrete. To conquer the overwhelm, break the skill down. By way of example, you might opt to focus on foot positioning or on strengthening your fingers.

• 0 — You know (almost) nothing aside from the name of the region. You need to learn it but have not practiced or studied it. You don’t understand how to do anything, although you have started learning. You are in the first couple weeks of a 101 course, if you wish to put it in college terms.
• 2 — You’re an advanced beginner. You can do a couple of things by yourself, but you still need a great deal of advice and formulas
• 3 — You’re now competent. You have gotten past the introductory material, and you’re figuring out where to apply. You can do things that people can’t even consider doing. You are not perfect, and you need to consider what to do in certain circumstances. But you’re really great.
• 5 — You’re an expert. You operate using intuition and to an observer your performance looks like magic.

Let’s break each of these down:

You might have noticed that I don’t need to use Beeminder to get me to practice writing. This is because I practice writing every day as part of my job. You can get the same benefits through freelance work or simply creating something. By way of instance, if you would like to learn WordPress, you can create a personal website.
Tailor your practice so and just make sure to test yourself, otherwise you will just be spinning your wheels.

Second, being a T-shaped person only makes you interesting. This benefits you in the moment the hiring supervisor they see your restart to the moment you interview. I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to talk to people that are interesting? (Especially if the other job candidates regurgitate the same boring formulas in their applications).
5. Deconstruct skills.

Y

First, you want to assess what knowledge and skills you already have. In addition, you will need to rate your ability in each area. You can do this however you like, but I’d recommend that you make a spreadsheet in which you write down the knowledge and skills you can think about, and then rate each. Here is how I think of each level:
There are plenty of skills people are you going to tell you that you should have. Heck, I’m guilty of it. While I (and Thomas) assert that there are areas that everybody would benefit from knowing about, you should focus first and foremost on what interests you. Especially for the area you choose to go deep, don’t pick something just because it is “marketable” or as it seems impressive at parties. Pick something that really fascinates you, because that is what will get you through the instances that are sucky where making progress is hard and you need to quit.

The first question to address when starting on your T-shaped travel is What skills should I build? What should I learn? 

Source: TPD College Admissions Feed