Cultivating T-Shaped Leaders

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In today’s fast-paced and unpredictable business environment, organisations need leaders who can navigate complexity and drive innovation. The T-shaped leader—those who share knowledge across the organisation while maintaining deep expertise in their functional areas. To truly harness the power of T-shaped leadership, companies must cultivate a mix of visionaries and tacticians, each bringing unique strengths to the table.

The last few years have underscored the need for adaptable leaders who can respond to rapid market fluctuations. The pandemic, social justice movements, geopolitical conflicts, and economic instability have created a volatile environment where strategic thinkers must quickly evaluate opportunities and threats while operationalising their strategies. T-shaped leaders balance a broad understanding of the organisation (the horizontal part of the "T") with deep expertise in a specific area (the vertical part of the "T").

Research spanning 15 years with the US Army reveals that organisations need two types of T-shaped leaders to thrive:

Big-T Leaders (BTLs): Visionaries who drive innovation across the organisation, identifying strategic opportunities and integrating their expertise to achieve broad goals.

Little-T Leaders (LTLs): Tacticians who focus on specific initiatives and projects, ensuring efficient execution aligned with the organisation's strategic needs.

Developing T-Shaped Leaders

For BTLs:

Exposure to External Networks: Include job assignments and formal education programmes that broaden their perspective beyond their immediate function.

Strategic Assignments: Involve them in initiatives that require adaptation to changes in internal and external environments, such as leading expansion efforts or mergers.

For LTLs:

Deepening Expertise: Focus on gaining mastery in the organisation's practices through stretch assignments and scaling initiatives.

Operational Experience: Provide opportunities to oversee teams and remodel processes, transitioning from task mastery to transactional leadership.

Organisations need both BTLs and LTLs who are generalists and specialists:

BTL Specialists: Oversee multiple functions and understand the complexity of dynamic environments.

BTL Generalists: Leverage external factors to create effective strategies.

LTL Specialists: Manage task-heavy processes with a focus on efficiency.

LTL Generalists: Collaborate across functions to meet organisational goals.

To cultivate T-shaped leaders at scale, senior executives must understand the types of leaders they have and what they need. This awareness allows for strategic development plans that align with the organisation's goals, ensuring the right balance of talent to drive innovation and growth.

Organisations that succeed in developing T-shaped leaders—both visionaries and tacticians—will be better equipped to navigate the complexities of today’s business landscape. By investing in the right development programmes and strategic assignments, companies can create a pipeline of leaders prepared to lead their teams through challenges and opportunities, ultimately driving long-term success.

Hise Gibson, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, draws on his experience as a colonel in the US Army. His insights provide a valuable roadmap for companies aiming to cultivate the T-shaped leaders essential for thriving in a volatile world.