Capacity Evolution Page Updates

I have updated the pages for:

• X-Shaped People
• G-shaped People
• I-shaped People
• T-shaped People
• H-shaped People
• A-shaped People
• U-shaped People

Tags: capacity evolution, H-shaped people, I-shaped people, leadership capacity, t-shaped people

We Do as We Are (Part 1: T-Shaped People)

A foundational element of our capacity to understand and engage the world is the way in which we relate to the world. In other words, we understand that of which we are aware–what we perceive. We engage with what we believe the world to be. How we engage with the world is who we are. A simple example is this: If I perceive the world as fundamentally other or separate from me then I will tend to be in opposition toward it. I will tend to try to control it, manipulate and use it as end to my means. That is who I am. Sound familiar?

In the this series of posts we’ll look at the different stages of perception we pass through as adults and the types of people these stages of perception tend to produce.

There has been a lot written about T-shaped people. For a good list of links visit Keith Instone’s blog. Tim Brown’s article in Fast Company talks about their strategy at IDEO:

We look for people who are so inquisitive about the world that they’re willing to try to do what you do. We call them “T-shaped people.” They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need. That’s what you’re after at this point — patterns that yield ideas.

T-shaped people can dive deep like their predecessors, the I-shaped people, but they have left the safety and comfort of their expertise behind. They engage and appreciate others and the contribution those people might bring to the project. However, people at the T-stage in their development may still tend to see their wide ranging connections as a means to a specific end. In other words, if you are in the T-shaped person’s network, you may be being used.

To really get egalitarian, we’re actually not looking at “T”, we’re talking about “H”. The difference is this: at the “T” level of capacity we are just beginning to engage others and the world in their complex glory. Others are still others. The world is still “out there.” When we make the move from “T” to “H” we take on a more inclusive perspective. The boundaries between “me”, “you” and “the world” begin to blur. The flower of inter-relation blossoms and the potential for organizations, communities and nations to really begin to transform emerges.

 

Tags: capacity, H-shaped people, I-shaped people, t-shaped people