The software development industry is undergoing a profound transformation, and even the sustainability of long-established job titles is being questioned.
At the heart of this change are the T-shaped individuals who are redefining how software companies can build more effective teams and deliver significantly better service to their clients.
Many companies employ generalists (often in leadership positions) who know a small amount about every operation throughout the company. Traditionally, these roles have been complemented with “I-shaped” individuals who are specialists in their fields. A T-shaped person, however, is a subject-matter expert, but one who also has knowledge or skills in several other domains.
The idea of T-shaped individuals is largely credited to IDEO Design Consultancy CEO Tim Brown, although McKinsey was also an early adopter of the phrase.
Cross-functional, flexible worker
In software development, an employee's depth of expertise in a core technical discipline or domain (the vertical part of the T) is complemented by their ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds and specialties (the horizontal part). And it’s these illusive individuals who are quietly transforming how successful teams function and engage.
T-shaped team members are also characterised by their willingness to continuously learn and develop new skills beyond their core expertise. They have a good understanding of how their work fits into the bigger picture and impacts other parts of the organisation.
T-shaped teams excel at problem-solving and are quick to respond to shifting needs.
They also exhibit a flexibility to take on tasks and responsibilities outside of their immediate job description as needs shift or as their team requires.
It is obvious that having deep technical mastery, as well as the ability to work cross-functionally and see the broader context, make these employees invaluable in teams generally, but in software development in particular.
Delivering business value
Having T-shaped individuals in an organisation doesn’t just create more harmonious teams.
Traditionally, software teams have been built around highly-specialised individuals. These are the experts who possess deep, laser-focused expertise in a single domain.
While there is certainly merit in having these experts in teams, it can lead to silos, communication breakdowns, and a lack of adaptability that is quickly becoming incongruent in modern business relationships, and especially in an evolving, more collaborative digital landscape.
Having T-shaped members in a team fosters a far better operational continuity in teams and cuts down on redundancy. T-shaped developers can cover for one another, reducing the risk of bottlenecks and ensuring a steady flow of progress for clients.
T-shaped teams excel at problem-solving and are quick to respond to shifting needs. This really supports the agile methodology and helps teams respond quickly to client requirements and deliver higher quality service and better outcomes.
The COVID pandemic was the seismic catalyst for businesses to re-imagine how they operated and delivered to clients. With this came the accelerated evolution of software jobs.
Agile methodologies have become the norm, requiring software teams to be more adaptable and responsive to changing requirements. Roles like scrum master are evolving to encompass a wider range of project management and leadership responsibilities.
In fact, the traditional scrum master role may not exist in its current form for much longer. We have shifted to agile project manager roles, and this includes more focus on stakeholder management, account management and overall project delivery.
In addition, the shift to remote and hybrid work models has placed an even greater emphasis on soft skills like communication, collaboration and self-management. Software professionals need to develop these capabilities to thrive in distributed work environments.
It is important for software leaders to help their teams make this transition and to remember that softer skills can be learned.
T-shaped skills development
Fostering cross-functional collaboration requires leaders to understand individual interests and motivations when it comes to training and development. They can then tailor training plans to align with what people are genuinely interested in learning.
It is also important to provide opportunities for people to apply these new skills in their day-to-day work, as this helps reinforce the learning.
If we encourage employees to build a business case when requesting training or development, they can immediately practise skills like stakeholder management and communication. Strong communication, collaboration and critical thinking abilities are just as important as technical mastery.
The goal must be to have teams that can translate complex technical concepts into business-friendly terms, aligning software solutions with overarching organisational goals.
This cross-functional fluency is a game-changer, and allows software development teams to become part of delivering business value, rather than mere order-takers.
Companies that are agile enough to embrace and invest in this new type of developer are most likely to thrive and will certainly make better delivery partners.
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