I -, Dash, T- competency profiles became very popular for the last 5-7 years due to their value in Agile teams forming, and also building career tracks for professionals in the VUCA world.
AXELOS – the leading methodological vendor for ITIL, PRONCE, MoR and other popular methodologies and frameworks – presented its extended concept for teams and team members on emergent areas and markets.
Below is an excerpt of this article about newly designed M-, E-, ans X- shaped competency profiles.
“M-shaped people have evolved from being Pi-shaped into those who possess multiple specialties (the vertical part of the M). From a resource management perspective, a person with one or more specialties are more adaptable than someone with a single speciality (I-shaped person) or even Pi-shaped. As such, each additional speciality changes the letter “M” to a comb. That is, where a person possesses more than three specialties to resemble a comb shape.
E-shaped is a new paradigm shift, where people actively demonstrate a combination of four characteristics – Experience, Expertise, Exploration and Execution to form the letter E. E-shaped people who demonstrate the breadth and depth of knowledge have expanded their knowledge to include tangible (execution i.e. proven ability to deliver) and intangible (exploration i.e. proven ability towards continuous improvement) specialities. This implies the person has both vision and granular detail to make a discernible difference to the organization reminiscent of being a best practice practitioner in whatever domain or competency.
X-shaped people have a higher degree of self-awareness, adaptive capacity and the competencies to thrive in the future. Similar to the self-actualisation in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this employee type refers to the pinnacle of individual capability and competency. That is, X-shaped people demonstrate uniquely human skills that are grounded in empathy and purpose. They move from domains of knowledge to a constant state of learning, continually adapting to the environment. People with X-shaped skills have deep expertise in specialities (or knowledge area) as well as strong leadership skills and credibility.”
IT startup mentoring framework 