Over the last decade—especially in the past few years—a new type of professional has emerged: the T-Shaped professional. The demand for employees who fit this skillset has risen and offers professionals a unique opportunity for higher earnings and greater career advancement.
Project Managers with T-shaped skills stand ready to reap the benefits of this professional strategy.
What is a T-Shaped Professional?
The concept of the T-Shaped professional is simple, but it can have a potent, positive effect on your project management career and opportunities.
Imagine the letter “T.” Any project manager worth their salt already possesses the first aspect of a T-shaped professional: the vertical line. This line represents a depth of knowledge in project management. For instance, if you wanted to focus on project management, you would be an authority on scheduling, risk management, and quality management. It is this specialized knowledge in a particular field that gives you the deep discipline expertise to contribute on a greater scale than a “traditional” generalist professional.
What separates T-Shaped professionals from others is the horizontal line of the “T,” which is a breadth of knowledge across several disciplines. These disciplines may be any combination of professional skills, such as IT and technical knowledge, client management, business operations, etc. These are the general areas of knowledge you may not be an expert in but have a good understanding of the role and importance of each. This broad, cross-discipline knowledge maximizes the success of cross-functional

The Benefits of Becoming a T-Shaped Professional
The most immediate benefit of embracing the T-shaped philosophy is that you become more valuable to your team. You will have a unique combination of generalist and specialist knowledge. Due to this breadth and depth of knowledge, you will be a much more effective collaborator. This is perfect for project managers who work with technical teams. You will be able to speak about a variety of subjects with specialists while having the expertise to understand the deep importance of a specific subject yourself.
Becoming a T-shaped project manager will also build your reputation for competence, an important factor in workplace retention. This can place you on the fast track to a promotion or change of position. Or, if you are looking for a new start, your resume will be positioned ahead of traditional project management generalists who only focus on one philosophy rather than several, such as the T-Shaped project manager.
Learning new skills, “upskilling,” in your field will always have a positive effect on your career and the company you choose to work for. Now, more than ever, project managers need to be flexible and adaptable.
How do you choose which course or certification to focus on?