# T Shape Developing knowledge and skills in T shape is valuable. The idea is that you have a specialty, a domain in which you have deeper expertise. From there, you can explore other fields, and develop new competences. For those, you will generally reach a beginner to intermediate level (cfr [[Four stages of competence]]). Developing a "T Shape" will help you create bridges between different topics and fields. This can become a key advantage and boost your career. For instance, I started working as a software developer, and later evolved to team leadership, management, and IT infrastructure roles. Each previous experience helped me develop new skills. This gave me a deeper and wider view, that I could use to help people from different domains understand each other.