But, it’s not about being the master of nothing…meet Master Jack!
Not so long ago, being a ‘jack of all trades’, was a bit frowned upon in the world of business. It had the stigma that you were a master of nothing. And, success was deemed dependent on having a team of masters working together.
But, two critical influences have contributed to turning this belief on its head, and therefore making being a ‘jack of all trades’ cool again. Let’s be clear though – it’s not about being a master of nothing! Rather, it’s about having a very good broad knowledge that makes you a multi-dimensional, fluid asset to your organisation. Aim to be a Master Jack!
The first critical influence of change is the internet and mobile technology. Emma Gannon’s book, the Multi-Hyphen Method, explains that this technology has empowered us to work wherever, whenever, so we can design our own working lives. She goes on to say that having more than one string to your bow is essential to get ahead in today’s working world. And, if Richard Branson has endorsed what Emma has to say, she must be a sure bet!
The second critical influence of change is the emergence of the Agile Methodology, which encompasses the principles of adaptive and continuous planning, so you can respond to change quickly and easily during the software development process. These principles are being applied beyond software development and into our everyday working lives. In a world where flexibility for employability is a reality, we know to survive we have to be able to nimbly adapt and change.
So, what are the benefits of having a team or organisation full of Master Jacks?
They get the bigger picture
The Inform Team is a great example of this. We give our clients a positive experience as we’re a team made up of Master Jacks. We’re all masters of the technology industry and at least one core skill that makes up a technology adoption team – change management, employee engagement, communications, graphic design and training. But then we have some Jack skills too! For example, some of us draft content but do operations and project management, whilst others can train but also create graphics. By not being shoed-in and fixed in one skill, we can see our clients’ challenges from more than one angle. This means getting a bigger, more rounded picture of what’s going on, so we can come up with a better solution.
They keep on learning
Master Jacks are always up for learning and branching out to acquire new skills. They believe pigeon-holing is a dirty word and resistance to change just isn’t in their DNA. Their personalities are well suited to our rapidly changing work world. If you’re in the process of implementing change it’s the Master Jacks that you want to get on board to champion the change and take the message viral. They’ll be curious about what you’re up to and will want to know if there’s an opportunity for them to learn a new skill. And, once they have the new skill they’ll be keen to share it with their peers, helping your organisation to create more Master Jacks.
They create their future…and yours
Master Jacks are the masters of their own destiny, creating a portfolio of skills which satisfy their ambitions and curiosity. Their customised future makes them unique and innovative as they must keep on spotting opportunities and trends, to meet their career specifications and aspirations. If their talents are ignored they’ll look elsewhere, but if you nurture their talent and treat them as an asset they will help your organisation create its own innovative future.
Having a fluid skill set means you can quickly adapt to organisational and technological change. That’s why The Inform Team is proud of its network of Master Jacks who help organisations to adopt new technology!
