The X-Man And Other Shapes In The Public Service

To thrive and innovate, every company needs a good mix of people with varied skill sets. Challenge imagines what people would look like if they truly resembled the shape of their skill set.

The I-shaped Person

From the work they do, you can see that they have a serious depth of knowledge in their field. However, when it comes to communication, they may need to work on skilfully conveying their ideas to others.

The I-shaped person can be found in specialist technical roles such as engineering, finance, and data analytics.

The T-shaped Person

At lunch, you’ll hear this colleague sharing about various pursuits and interesting facts they’ve discovered over the weekend. They balance their deep understanding in a chosen field with general know-how and openness to many topics, environments and people.

T-shaped public officers can often be found in communications and managerial roles.

The Pi-shaped Person

A progression of the T-shaped person, the Pi-shaped person presents an additional perk: they have expertise in two or more fields. Being a part of their team is a double blessing as you can learn much from them. On the other hand, their high-energy minds may get exhausting for others, and even themselves.

As a public officer, this person may “double-hat” in different roles across several divisions or even various agencies, and be a key player who unites cross-functional teams.

The E-shaped Person

The highly sought-after whiz who has the four coveted Es: expertise, experience, execution skills, and exploratory mindset. In the age of disruption, they’ve got the knack to craft and quickly put innovative solutions into action.

The E-shaped person in the Public Service is likely to be a mid-career joiner with a wealth of experience and a dare-to-try attitude.

The X-shaped Person

This person isn’t part of the X-Men but leads with exceptional skills in leadership and deep expertise in overlapping fields. They are constantly evolving with the industry and know how to motivate people to achieve dynamite results, with an appreciation for both high technology and the human touch.

X-shaped people are often leaders of high-performing teams or the person to call on for taking point in a crisis.

People of all skill shapes are valuable in multi-disciplinary teams, and the shape of our skill sets isn’t set in stone. With time and dedication, we can shapeshift by sharpening our skills and gaining more experience.