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This comment is a classic example of misreading the philosophy behind T-Shape people. T-Shape or 'paint drip' people is a term used for generalists who have acq

This comment is a classic example of misreading the philosophy behind T-Shape people. T-Shape or 'paint drip' people is a term used for generalists who have acquired a diverse skillset during their career and how these generalists have an upper hand over a specialist in certain domains. The book Range by David Epstein also goes deep into this philosophy. A single anecdote of a misguided manager ruining it for their team does not invalidate the idea of T-Shaped people.

oersted 4y ago
But T-Shaped people are specialists aren't they? That's the | part of the T. Specialists with enough curiosity and flexibility not to be afraid to go beyond their expertise and get a surface understanding of many other things that might indirectly enrich their core competency. At least that's how I understand it. Unlike generalists, they have gone through the tough process of going very deep into something. They understand that there's a lot of detail under the surface of any domain and they know how to get there when needed, whereas a generalists would disregard or be ignorant of any complexity.
- bakuninsbart 4y ago
  I think T-shaped people are usually specialists-turned-generalists, for example good software developers who later on became managers. As a manager you have to be a generalist, and you usually have hundreds of small tasks, so no deep dive in one topic, but surface level in many. In my experience these people are definitely better managers (unless they suffer of old physics prof disease), but I don't see the large benefits for more specialised roles. The more I switch to being a generalist, the less I can actually deep-focus, and talking to friends and colleagues, it doesn't seem like I'm the only one. That said, interest and curiosity about other fields, especially the ones you actively work with or neighbour is probably always a great quality to have.
- deleted 4y ago
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jimmySixDOF 4y ago
I'm here to bump the book Range but for me T-Shape theory is more about Tetris for Teams so you have overlap at the conversation level and enough depth in the direction(s) of travel. My hot take is Management Theory by 2D Shape Jargon is going to find its stride so in a few years xyzGPT will be classifying us as hyper-dimensional dodecahedrons anyway. /s.
grumpy_coder 4y ago
People should at least read about 'paint drip' people https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paint-drip-people-jack-many-trades-master-some-sean-beier https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paint-drip-people-jack-many-t... I'm not really clear if David Epstein merging the two ideas is the 'true' idea of T-Shaped people in the hive mind of the internet or not. tldr: T-Shaped could include multiple specialties (which make it not look much like a T)

oersted 4y ago

But T-Shaped people are specialists aren't they? That's the | part of the T. Specialists with enough curiosity and flexibility not to be afraid to go beyond their expertise and get a surface understanding of many other things that might indirectly enrich their core competency. At least that's how I understand it. Unlike generalists, they have gone through the tough process of going very deep into something. They understand that there's a lot of detail under the surface of any domain and they know how to get there when needed, whereas a generalists would disregard or be ignorant of any complexity.

bakuninsbart 4y ago
I think T-shaped people are usually specialists-turned-generalists, for example good software developers who later on became managers. As a manager you have to be a generalist, and you usually have hundreds of small tasks, so no deep dive in one topic, but surface level in many. In my experience these people are definitely better managers (unless they suffer of old physics prof disease), but I don't see the large benefits for more specialised roles. The more I switch to being a generalist, the less I can actually deep-focus, and talking to friends and colleagues, it doesn't seem like I'm the only one. That said, interest and curiosity about other fields, especially the ones you actively work with or neighbour is probably always a great quality to have.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

jimmySixDOF 4y ago

I'm here to bump the book Range but for me T-Shape theory is more about Tetris for Teams so you have overlap at the conversation level and enough depth in the direction(s) of travel. My hot take is Management Theory by 2D Shape Jargon is going to find its stride so in a few years xyzGPT will be classifying us as hyper-dimensional dodecahedrons anyway. /s.

grumpy_coder 4y ago

People should at least read about 'paint drip' people https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paint-drip-people-jack-many-trades-master-some-sean-beier https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paint-drip-people-jack-many-t... I'm not really clear if David Epstein merging the two ideas is the 'true' idea of T-Shaped people in the hive mind of the internet or not. tldr: T-Shaped could include multiple specialties (which make it not look much like a T)