Transdisciplinary: The Career Path for
the Future
The idea of a career following a pre-determined and linear path is slowly becoming out-dated. In the hyper-complex world we live in, issues such as climate change, water scarcity, poverty, emerging health challenges, and social and economic crises pose problems that cannot be solved by practitioners of one discipline alone. Jobs are created to solve problems. As the job market evolves, there will be an increased demand for professionals who are transdisciplinary and who are able to apply their unique perspectives to devise innovative, blended solutions. Transdisciplinary individuals can understand concepts across multiple disciplines and are able to make a broader contribution than people with just one specialty.
Develop your T-shape
The birth of factories during the
industrial revolution gave rise to the concept of ‘division of labour.’ A
person learns a craft and becomes a specialist and works with other specialists
in a process chain. They are proficient solely in their area of expertise.
Currently, we still work in an
environment where “success is being redefined as expertise’’ although there are
many arguments that this paradigm is shifting. Generalists that have typically
got a bad rep in the past are in increasing demand in the job market.
Adaptability and agility are important skills in the current world of work. A
new school of thought adopts a hybrid approach. The phrase “T-shaped person”
was coined by McKinsey and Company in the 80s. The vertical bar represents the
depth of your skills and expertise in a single field whereas the horizontal bar
is your breath or ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in
other areas and apply knowledge beyond your primary area. T-shaped employees
are highly adaptable, thrive on collaboration, and are excellent communicators.
‘Jack of all trades, master of none,’
is a phrase you are probably familiar with. Career coaches often urge people to
find their niche. Previous generations faithfully climbed one career ladder and
never got off. They became specialists in one field of knowledge. On the other
side of the spectrum, generalists become knowledgeable in many fields but the
extent of their knowledge lacks depth. If your career, like mine, has not
followed the traditional path of pursuing just one speciality area, you will
find this can be an asset in the future. Working in multiple careers will
develop your ‘T-shape’ – having a deep understanding in one field and
familiarity with other disciplines. By combining your different experiences,
mindsets, and experiences, you will be able to carve out a unique niche in the
job market for yourself. It can also make you more desirable compared to
your competitors as you are able to show that you have more than one
specialism and can fill in skills gaps in the workforce.
Combine your Experiences
As an Executive Coach, I have worked
with many clients who want to find their niche and stand out. My advice to them
has always been to identify what makes them different. To embrace the unique
combination of skills, experience or attributes that enables them to perform
the work that others cannot easily do. As I progress in my academic career, I
have found that the intersection of my unique skill-sets has created many
opportunities for me and helped me to define my research and consultancy niche.
Many people who completely change careers fail to fully leverage their previous
experience. They typically focus on their current role and forget their
previous experience. However, you may want to specialize as your career
progresses in either the corporate or academic world. Finding the connections
between all the disciplines you have studied might be the answer to developing
your unique expertise.
Become a Life-long Learner
If you have been dedicated to one
career path and have become a specialist, it might be time to start broadening
your horizons. You can start adapting your ‘I shape’ into a ‘T-shape.’ You may
find yourself in uncharted waters as new combinations of knowledge and advances
in research change the skill-sets that are currently in demand. Continually
update your skill-set and gain new competencies to ensure you stay competitive.
New experiences can help you look at problems from different angles. Some of
the world’s greatest innovations are derived from taking an existing model in
one industry or field and applying it to solve problems in a different one.
An added benefit of investing in
developing your T-shaped skills is that you will be able to bridge gaps in
multi-disciplinary teams. If you extend this investment across your
organization, you will open up silos and increase the agility of employees,
which will build teams that excel in a T-shaped future. T-shaped employees
embody characteristics such as being collaborative, empathetic, enthusiastic,
open-minded, and visionary.
The T-shaped Marketer
You can also become a T-shaped
professional in one subject discipline that has many sub-specialities. T shaped
marketers are heralded as the ‘marketers of the future.’ T-shaped marketers
have extensive knowledge in one type of marketing and sufficient experience in
other areas. These marketers have a good understanding of the entire marketing
strategy and have experience in different domains. They develop expertise in
one area, for example content marketing. However, they can understand how
content marketing is related to search engine optimization (SEO) and social
media. T-shaped content marketers will be able to craft compelling content that
will resonate on social media and drive traffic to websites.
You can develop your T-shape as a
marketer by constantly updating your skills. Marketing is a dynamic profession
that is constantly changing as technology and social trends change. T-shaped
marketers can help break silos in large marketing teams. They can also work
better with experts they outsource other tasks to. Additionally, T-shaped
marketers are very valuable to start-up enterprises where employees have to
wear many hats.
The Key-Shaped Person
A new model has evolved that takes the
notion of trans-disciplinarity to another level. Proponents of this model argue
that one deep vertical area is not sufficient and that a mixture of deeper
vertical areas will allow individuals to become highly innovative and creative.
Research has shown that many highly successful 21st century
professionals tend to be ‘key shaped’ – they possess several areas of
disciplinary capability with varying degrees of depth. These areas of
disciplinary expertise become the ‘teeth’ of the key. Possessing knowledge of
many disciplines supports the ability to translate knowledge, collaborate and
work with others from dissimilar backgrounds.
By developing more ‘teeth’ on your key,
you will develop your own unique transdisciplinary perspectives that promote
employability. A few years ago, I studied open innovation systems in
pharmaceutical companies in the UK and found that the individuals championing
this revolution were indeed transdisciplinary individuals who were recognized
as ‘knowledge brokers.’ They were able to collaborate with people from diverse
backgrounds to advance diverse therapeutic interventions and drug development.
So, if you are a scientist with an interest in gaming or a marketer who has an
interest in physics, do not be too quick to conclude that these fields cannot
possibly have any connections.
Trans-disciplinarity enables people to
think inside and outside the box. By equipping yourself with the capability to
transcend disciplinary borders and identify novel connections and combinations
of knowledge, you will become agile and cross-functional. You will be able to
collaborate with professionals from different disciplines and champion
innovation. Follow your curiosity and passion, extend your knowledge in one
area and then do it again in another area. The world we live in is full of
challenges. Career opportunities for transdisciplinary professionals are
blossoming. Lucrative career niches exist for those brave individuals who are
willing to explore new territories.
Courtesy
to Shailja Sharma, Faculty Member and Leadership and Career Coach in Strathmore
University
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