This goes into specific skill sets or situations.
In a specific situation, you may have had the role—e.g. Director of Product Development—but acted as an individual contributor on a project—e.g. Senior or Principal—but in different levels of organizational accountability—e.g. project lead, lead craftsperson, sponsor, facilitator, contributor, observer, witness, colleague, peer.
We also need a way to communicate the diversity of our skills. We're at a weird point of the Internet, and the world—the "Industry" no longer exists in ways past. We've grown specifically broad and broadly specific skill-sets that defy Before-Times' Naming precedence.
Job Searching is rough. When a resume has less than 5 seconds to snag attention, let alone the admonishment for non-formulaic, atypical career. challenge of creating portfolios for co
For me, the Need to Name is strong. It's what's been beaten into me through all the sought-help—some detrimental, some hurtful, some wasteful; and some lessons learnt, finding my way, strengthened the rally against One of anything.
How can we give shape to these spiky skill sets, or at least something to help shape our story for specific situations, seeking shape to understand perspective shift.
Defining the Axes
Contribution
Goes from IC intern -> principal; to (line manager to executive) of management layers.
Deeper into individuals contributor is more technical leadership while higher in leadership is more people/organizational. Each level of contribution goes through a "stages/levels of contribution" cycle (0–4: learning, etc.)
Depth
- Depth is specialization of knowledge, i.e. One Topic; spiky. Is also on an Intern to Principal of specific topics. To depth of organizational responsibilities.
Breadth
Breadths in level of responsibility or oversight. i.e. many topics.
Visualization
Plot points of position for projects or something, and see how things turn out.
One project: plot all the points for different skills used. Make a 3D shape out of it. That's the skill shape for the project.
They can be ripple like, layers on each other tasting from specific points or highs. Can figure out different shapes.
Impact Ripples
I have my circles model that I used a lot in conversation . It's basically an atomic-looking model that you go from self- to team- ; department- to global-...each thing goes, "which direction does the impact flow from this instance?"
A way to frame stakeholder management, influential leadership, purposeful impact, ower mapping, conversation-sharing, knowledge transfer, and organizational sustainability.
Open Business
Focus on the Open Business movement, in terms of layering. Use that, openly and in effort to be a part of for the leveling people have published. How to align or build it into a tool for more open communication. Able to build a skill shape over time—a literal growth graph.
But also how this could facilitatie conversations about Open Businesses. Creating conversations about levels, responsibilities, accountability (i.e. leasing directly to basal Values, Purpose, Model shaping of an organization...values-driven, purpose-driven, model-driven).
Autonomous Teams
My experience in building autonomous teams at Booking.com. One of the fundamental questions was how do we talk about roles in a team, in a project, in an organization? How do I lead an autonomous team? What does that mean? What are the references?
Seeing the others failing. Learning about organizational change from micro-cultures to at-scale through multiple lenses.
Ending up on an ultimate autonomous team. Finding others expected me to act with a different skill set and way of working than I used for finding success.
Working on the Team Performance Charts, where we partnered with a University Study to develop a spider-map—our own Project Aristotle. I stayed up till late, hand building 200 graphs to as mathematical precision as I could, to be sent out to all the teams in the department as results. Argued with people about quantitative accuracy and the consequences of changing words in qualitative science (words change meaning...there's typically A Reason why those are used).
Integrating Lenses
- Situational Leadership;
- Strengths-based Leadership;
- Neurodiversity Paradigm;
- Diverse, Multinational, Planetary Workforce;
- Design & Engineering Leadership;
- Generalists & Non-linear Thinkers;
- Team Management & Development;
- Design & Divergent Thinking;
- Design Systems & Graphic Design;
- Adaptive Leadership
- Inclusive Leadership
- Big Tech & Euro Tech
- Localization & Internationalization;
- Accessibility & Standards;
- Front-of-the-front end development & production;