The Shape of Individuals and the System

I contain multitudes, but then again, all of us do. And as we go deeper into this century, we'll need to contain much more than we've imagined.

Looking back over the past 20 years, I haven't had just one career, I've had four (and counting). It has allowed me to create a breadth and depth of experience, hold deep complexity and over time I've learned how to make sense out of seeming complex spaces. I've grown with each new role we have.

I graduated with a degree in Communications, a concentration in Public Relations and a Minor in Literature and have since expanded in so many different ways:

• Social/Public Entrepreneurship with AmeriCorps*NCCC after Hurricane Katrina in St. Bernard Parish, where I designed a construction project to rebuild 50 homes in four months, while living in a gutted out elementary school.
• Innovation and Technology Trailblazing and Consulting: I was asked to "Build a Culture of Innovation" at a 100-year-old, 25,000 person global management consulting firm. Me and my team went on to write the company's innovation blueprint and playbook, and create an ecosystem to surface, pitch, fund, and build ideas through Lean Experimentation.
• Author, Researcher and Movement Leader: After my work in consulting, I worked as a White House entrepreneur-in-residence between two administrations where I led research on the innovation and change within the federal government, designed and launched programs, workshops, and communities around evolving the people of government. I co-created a movement of thousands that took this research (toolkit and playbook) to spread these practices across all forms of government. I conceived of and wrote a book to help redesign our systems to meet today's current realities.
• Policy Entrepreneurship: As an Aspen Technology Policy Fellow, I learned how to research and write policy, and completed a project to reimagine how we might create more participatory policymaking with technology.

In my latest entrepreneurial endeavor I build modern cultures centered on compassion, putting empathy into action. Along the way I’ve learned about many different aspects of business, of policymaking, and specialized in innovation, design, policy, and building movements of change.?

Each of these experiences have built upon the other, creating a wildly different career than I could have imagined 20+ years ago when I was an undergrad.

Over time I have been able to build upon past expertise and experience in these sectors to create a multidisciplinary and intersectional approach towards the challenges we have today, and I have a greater understanding of how these puzzle pieces fit together.

But, I don’t know everything. I know a good bit of a lot of things, but at the end of the day, there’s so much more to learn and explore. I know that I can’t do this all alone--I need to bring in the right mix of people, no matter what shape they take.? I'm regularly reminded being humble becomes more difficult as we acquire more knowledge (and power).

This newsletter was inspired by research I recently was asked to do for a government fellowship executive director. I thought I'd also share some of my learnings here, too!

From “I” to “Multi-Pi” People

Generally in the past “I” shaped people were preferable, which shows that we are a specialist or subject matter expert in a specific function/discipline. An example of this type of person is a doctor or a lawyer with a depth of expertise. When you meet a doctor, you want to be sure that they have deep schooling in the human body and can help determine what may be wrong with our bodies.

Over time as the world has become more complex, a different type of workplace individual emerged.? These people have both a specialty but also broad knowledge or a generalist mindset. This started with “T” shaped people, but has since expanded to include “Pi” shaped people and now “Multi-Pi” or Comb”-shaped people. These people have one or multiple specialties, and a generalist or broad knowledge.

Here’s a definition of each of these types of people as shared by Manav Gupta, VP & CTO, IBM Canada:

• "T-Shaped: You are a specialist in one specific area and are known as a Subject Matter Expert in that profession. You have some high level understanding of a broader range of subjects associated with your area of expertise, but you are seldom called upon to answer questions on those areas.
• Pi-Shaped: You are a specialist in two areas and are known as a Subject Matter Specialist in both, and perhaps also either as an 'Architect' or an evangelist due to the depth of your skills in those two areas. The two areas are distinct skills, and may even require a completely different set of skills to master. A Pi-Shaped individual has both the deep expertise of a T-shaped individual, yet the ability to view problems from a different angle. Generally, Pi-Shaped individuals are called to manage critical situations or to provide a unique perspective they have due to the broader, yet deep skillset they provide.
• Comb-shaped (or Multi-Pi): At this level, you are considered a specialist, a generalist, and an evangelist. Comb-shaped individuals have seen several trends come and go, they retain deep skills in a few areas, yet pick up more pillars of expertise as their careers progress. These are obviously much sought-after, yet difficult to come by. The Comb-shaped (or Multi-Pi) may be formed from skills in completely different domains - for example, sales and software development, public speaking and bookkeeping, etc. Such individuals do not sacrifice the desire to know the details with the pressures to meet business goals which are invariably placed on them."

These are all questions we could be asking ourselves as we prepare for the future of work:

• Which one of these three people describe you the most?
• What kinds of people surround you at work?
• Do we need to swap out a differently-shaped person to get a job done?

What Skills are Necessary

So knowing that the future requires us to be multifaceted, what are the skills that we need to develop? First, we need to determine what are the conditions that are existing in our life that have led us to a new world we live in, full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, also known as the acronym VUCA.?

A report by the Institute for the Future and the University of Phoenix Research Institute identified a series of?disruptive shifts that will reshape the workforce landscape, which they call drivers. They are:

• Extreme Longevity: Increasing global lifespans change the nature of careers and learning.
• Computational World: Massive increase in sensors and processing power make the world a programmable system
• Super-structured Organizations: Social technologies drive new forms of production and value creation
• Globally-Connected World: Increased global interconnectivity puts diversity and adaptability at the center of organizational operations
• New Media Ecology: New communications tools require media literacies beyond text?
• Rise of Smart Machines and Systems: Workplace robotics nudge human workers out of rote, repetitive tasks

Here are a series of specific skills needed for the workforce of the future. These are:?

• Sense-Making: Ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed?
• Novel and Adaptive Thinking: Proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based
• Social Intelligence: Ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions
• Trans-disciplinary: Literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines
• New Media Literacy: Ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication?
• Computational Thinking: Ability to translate vast amounts of data and abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning
• Cognitive Load Management: Ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximize cognitive functions
• Design Mindset: Ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes
• Cross-Cultural Competency: Ability to operate in different cultural settings
• Virtual Collaboration: Ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team

All of these skills listed above grapple with the complexities of today, while preparing ourselves for the future which is to come.

In a VUCA world, we are shaped by and actively shape the world around us as well. Which brings me to a question: where should we devote our time and efforts — on people, or the systems around us?

This is very much like the chicken vs. the egg debate. Do the systems around us have power over us, giving us less free will and agency to shift the world around us? Or, can we step into the power within ourselves as individuals to have the grace of agency and choice in our daily lives to change the system?

I think of this as a yes, and: the system has power over us, but we also can recognize and build the power within ourselves to change the system. We have to hold both of these realities as true. To what extent the system has power over us is another conversation (see next newsletter for a discussion on that).

Systems matter, because they shape people. People matter, because they shape systems.

Shaped by Our Systems?

While we are shaping ourselves through being a generalist or specialist in a specific topic, there’s another type of shaping we must be aware of that adds to the complexity of human existence, and this comes from the field of somatics.

Somatics comes from the Greek root soma, which means "the living organism in its wholeness." This is the best phrase we have in English to understand human beings as an integrated mind/body/spirit, and as social, relational beings. In somatic speak, we call this embodiment, “shape,” and the collective “body”.

We all are part of the culture that surrounds us: in our homes, our workplaces, and in society. Within each of us, we have a series of experiences and forces that have shaped us to who we are today. This is called the “Sites of Shaping” and is a key part of somatics. Our soma is our body and it has been shaped by our various experiences and forces in life that we can’t see, but have impacted how we view and act in the world.

This is a public health framework developed by Alan Greig and generationFIVE. It is further elaborated in the work of Staci K. Haines and generative somatics, as explained in this video.?

We are shaped by all of these Sites. Social norms are transmitted to us, and reinforced, at each Site. The larger the circle, the more people and power it takes to transform the Site. All these Sites are interconnected, with social norms, culture, and the economy expressed through each one. How we embody our beliefs, strategies for surviving and thriving habits, and actions, are developed as we interact with the experience of life in our world. We adapt to our experiences and our environments –whether for survival or resilience–in our thoughts and in our bodies, which then become automatic and “normal.”?

“The bad news, from a social justice perspective, is that we inadvertently embody societal norms we don’t believe in, and often don’t embody the values we believe in,” as stated in the strategy in Generative Somatics. Here are a few characteristics of our culture that may have seeped into our realities:

• Fear: Our culture’s strategy is to help us be afraid of our own power and of other people, so that we may be easily manipulated.?
• One Right Way and Perfectionism: The idea that there is one way to do anything and perfect is attainable and desirable for everyone.?
• Individualism: The belief that we can make it on our own without help, not relying on community to get through life.?
• Productivity and Progress: We assume that the goal is always more, bigger, stronger, better, rather than rest, relationships, and resilience.?

It seems like we’re doomed to repeat these sites of shaping and creating harm in the world. But there’s hope. We have the power within ourselves to examine its effect on our lives, build our awareness of how we’ve been shaped, to also shape ourselves and the system to bend towards deeper change with compassion.

The New Government Leader’s EDG

In Fall 2020, I served on a number of Biden-Harris transition policy teams, around building 21st Century "Better" Government and political appointee onboarding. The following framework was formed during that time with a good friend, Steve Sinha. Steve later adopted this into the curriculum for Empowered to Run, an online training program for thoughtful leaders everywhere, especially those running for office.

We live in a?VUCA?world (Volatile,?Uncertain,?Complex, and?Ambiguous) — and many state & local governments are not set up to effectively respond to its ever-increasing, fast-moving, interconnected array of social, economic, natural, and technological challenges. With the necessary skills, leaders can transform their governments and organizations to better address this environment, improve outcomes, and increase trust in the institutions they run.

Better Government and Organizations

So what key qualities must government have to support their communities in a VUCA world? Here’s a framework to build from. Envision a government that:

Understands the challenges and opportunities of all.?It is:

• Empathetic: Better government has the intent and support to deeply listen to all those that it serves and engages with. Government will proactively listen to a breadth of stakeholders — especially the most overlooked.
• Diverse: Better government has a diverse government workforce that is reflective “of the people”. It will inherently be more empathetic by virtue of its greater collective lived experience.
• Community-engaged: Better government proactively reaches out to the people it serves and invites them to actively engage with agencies.
• Data-oriented: Better government responsibly gathers qualitative and quantitative data so it might see patterns and trends.

Develops excellent public policy.?It is:

• Responsive: Better government acts swiftly if necessary to meet the needs of the moment and the people it serves.
• Innovative: Better government relentlessly pursues inventive and experimental approaches to tackle the challenges of our communities, improving over time.
• Constituent-centric: Better government focuses on the needs and experience of the beneficiary when developing a policy and it confirms that its actions, policies, and programs provide equitable distribution of resources and outcomes.
• Collaborative: Better government co-creates approaches and policies with state & local governments, community organizations, and directly with the people that it serves. Inviting and incorporating input from people with diverse backgrounds and thoughts yields better policy.
• Equitable: Better government strives not for equality, where everyone gets the same treatment, but instead on outcomes for different groups of people, based on what they need.
• Evidence-based: Better government uses data, performance metrics, and assessments to measure the effectiveness of policies and programs. Agencies can determine what’s working, where it’s succeeding, for whom, and under what circumstances and then target their resources to invest in initiatives shown to be the most effective.
• Adaptable: Better government is prepared to tackle new, emerging, and changing problems and threats, and embrace new opportunities when they present themselves.

Delivers excellent services, programs, and products.?It is:

• Effective: Better government delivers products, services, and programs that meet measurable objectives, are continuously improved, and achieve the desired result.
• Efficient: Better government is a good steward of public funds, cutting the red tape of bureaucracy and breaking down silos inherent in the government to produce results.
• Modern: Better government embraces emerging and modern technology products and services and leverages them to change agency culture and performance for the better.
• Ethical: Better government acts with the highest levels of fairness and integrity with a deep moral code and guidelines for operations to foster trust in the communities they serve.
• Transparent & Communicative: Better government is transparent and leads two-way communication with the the public it serves as often as possible. This helps to build buy-in and partnerships.

The EDG Framework

We can lead successful, sustainable change in government with the EDG framework, which is designed to increase your:

1. Emotional Quotient [EQ] (people)
2. Design Quotient [DQ] (processes)?
3. Government Quotient [GQ] (domain)

Together these form our EDG (“edge”) framework, covering foundational skills and knowledge that will help you authentically represent your customers and make your fellowship efforts as informed, effective, and impactful as possible.

The EDG framework is relevant for fellows, term-appointed employees, government officials (elected, appointed, and civil) and community advocates and can help any of these leaders serve their communities more effectively.

Components

With strong EDG capacity and training, you can create an energetic, open, thoughtful, collaborative, forward-thinking environment critical to developing and implementing successful policies, programs, and processes that meet your constituents’ needs. Read more below about the three components of the EDG framework and why they matter.

Emotional Quotient (EQ)

Your emotional quotient is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them, and how to work cooperatively with them.? This has both inward-facing and outward-facing dimensions.? High EQ leaders have:

• Self-awareness: the ability to recognize one's own emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals and recognize their impact on others
• Self-regulation: the ability to control or redirect one's disruptive emotions and impulses and adapt to changing circumstances
• Motivation: the growth mindset that we can continue to develop our abilities, learn from others, and change the future, and the drive to do so
• Empathy: the ability to understand how other people feel and recognize group culture
• Social skills: the ability to manage relationships and get along with others (skills around communication, influence, leadership, teamwork and conflict management)

In the political and government domains, further developing your emotional intelligence will make you more effective at connecting with others because you will better understand their pains, challenges, and interests.? This in turn makes you more effective at delivering for your stakeholders, as you will then be better able to develop and advocate for solutions that fit these needs (see DQ for more).? Additionally, since your success is tied to the success of your teams (which for fellows includes both your immediate team and your agency), increasing your EQ improves your ability to align and motivate your teams, clear roadblocks, and ensure everyone’s needs are met.

While some of the underlying values are ingrained, many EQ skills can be learned and strengthened.? Training helps you develop empathy for your customers and understand your own motivations to ensure that you are able to make decisions that are authentic to you and represent your community well.? We focus on listening to your community, listening to experts, and listening to the different sides debates, so that you are addressing what is important and framing your response in the most effective way.? Additionally, we guide you in self-care and management to help ensure that you and your team are healthy and aligned for the long-haul.?

Design Quotient (DQ)

Your design quotient complements your emotional quotient.? Whereas EQ centers your ability to engage, empathize with, and relate to people, DQ focuses on your ability to scale those interactions, develop innovative solutions to challenges you hear about, and rally people to the cause. The goal is that these solutions are:

• Desirable: make sense to people and for people
• Feasible: technically possible within the foreseeable future
• Viable: sustainable in the operating environment

To get there, leaders with high DQ have mastered:

• how to ask effective questions,
• how to synthesize what they hear from multiple sources,
• how to brainstorm and co-create solutions and messages,
• how to continuously test their ideas, learn from their experience, and make improvements, and
• how to tell compelling stories about these ideas.

In the political and government domains, design skills will give you an edge in creating a differentiated policy platform that resonates with your community, and delivering on that platform once on the job.? These skills are valuable not only for developing ideas about how your government can approach challenges in your community (service design), they can also assist you in improving how the government operates internally (organizational design).? More broadly, these skills are useful for any entrepreneurial (or intrapreneurial) endeavor.? It’s helpful to remember that your work is literally a start-up nonprofit business.

Throughout your experience you will engage a diverse array of your customers, asking questions that draw out stories and language that will inform you and prepare you to tell compelling stories to others.? We help you synthesize the information you hear and integrate it with evidence-based expert analysis.? We provide you a foundation on which to co-create ideas with those you serve and improve them over time.

Government Quotient (GQ)

Your government quotient is a measure of your knowledge of the domain you’re seeking to influence.? Your governments (local, state, and federal) have been operating for a long time without you.? For you to help steer the ship of government to better serve your community, it’s crucial to be familiar with:

• how the government is structured,
• what authorities and tools you will have in government,
• what sectors of society and the economy government engages with and how,
• what policy challenges each level of your government is tackling, what policy proposals are being debated, and with which champions, and?
• who you can go to for data-driven analysis and advocacy support.

GQ provides critical support for EQ and DQ in the EDG framework.? By developing your domain knowledge, you will build a mental model of policy challenges and the government's potential role in helping solve them.? You will then be able to listen more deeply to your constituents’ stories because you will see how they fit in.? Engaging more deeply in turn increases your empathy and builds stronger, authentic connections with those you are speaking with.? And your ability to design and implement policy solutions in the domain of government is obviously reliant on your knowledge of how government operates and where there are opportunities and constraints.

Having a high GQ when ramping up into your role will enable you to tune your strategies to what is bold but also realistic.? When governing, a high GQ will enable you to navigate your work environment and transform your vision into reality.

So here's the thing: as we go deeper into the 21st century, every one of us must be scholars in all three of these spaces: people (EQ), processes (DQ), and the domain in which we work in (GQ). These are no longer a "nice to have" but a "must have," and should no longer be thought of as "soft skills" but rather essential skills that we must use to govern and lead us into a better future world we all want to live in. (Note: Arguably, a fourth scale is emerging where we can measure ourselves on is the Technology Quotient (TQ) scale, but not everyone needs this to get our jobs done.)

Just as the world around us is becoming more complex and uncertain, we also must evolve, and not always have our heads in the sand and resist change. We are shaped by the systems around us, but we also shape the system. With each passing day, we're becoming more comb-shaped or multi-pi shaped. Those who embrace this will excel, and those who don't will slowly decline and fall behind. Throughout all of this, have empathy for those around us who are doing their best and the humility to know that you are no better than those around you.