T-Shaped

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Jan Neudecker
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1 min. reading time

T-shaped describes people who have deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar of the "T") and broad knowledge or the ability to collaborate across other areas (the horizontal bar). The idea is often used when building cross-functional teams in agile environments.

In agile teams, T-shaped individuals help the team focus on the most important work more often, without waiting for a specialist to become available. This increases the team’s ability to deliver value continuously.

T-shaped people make it easier to:

  • Avoid bottlenecks
  • Swarm on priority work
  • Keep the flow going even when someone is unavailable
  • Collaborate across skill boundaries

Example:

A developer might be deeply skilled in backend development but also able to test, support UX discussions, or help with frontend work when needed.

This doesn’t mean everyone must master everything. The goal is to develop enough breadth to contribute beyond your core expertise when needed.