the future of work is hybrid
TRANSCRIPT
THE FUTURE OF WORK IS HYBRIDAND THAT INCLUDES HYBRID PROFESSIONALS
DR. SARABETH BERK
More Than My Title The Power of Hybrid Professionals in a Workforce of Experts and Generalists
● Expanding our notion of hybridity in work.● Unpacking the value of hybrid professionals.● How you can examine your own professional
identity (and hybridity).● What to consider when recruiting, hiring, and
interviewing hybrids for your organization.
TODAY’S MAIN IDEAS
What is your professional identity?
What is your professional identity?
Turn to your table partner and ask them this question.
(1 min per person)
SkillsDomainsJob Titles
We tend to answer with:
Our professional identity is NOT
our job title.
HYBRID WORK
The future of work is hybrid
Hybrid
HYBRID WORK
HYBRID WORKFORCE
SOURCE: financesonline.com/hiring-statistics/
2021/2022 Data Analysis & Market Share
How do you hire people like...
Justin Susannah Me
● Making electronic music● Creating games● Coding● Building installations● Developing widgets● Designing ● DJ-ing
Justin’s expertise is:
● Organizing info● Analyzing data● Creating clarity● Educational design● Making things aesthetic● Wrangling people
Susannah’s expertise is:
● Programming● Analysis● Sales● Collaboration
● Data scientist● Researcher● Storyteller● Educator
“I do _______.” “I am _______.”
SKILLS VS. IDENTITIES
Justin calls himself a Creative Developer and his job title is Tech Director
Digital Designer
Technologist
Musician?
Susannah calls herself a Process Illuminatorand her job title is Learning Designer
Organizer of Ideas
Educational Designer
Analyst?
● Social signal about where you fit in the pecking order
● What kind of person you are
“What do you do” is a...
“We need to shift this question to a
self actualized identity that’s internally validated
and connected to purpose.”
- Heather McGowan, Future of Work Strategist(Adaptation Advantage, 2020)
WHERE WE ARE...
“Value-driven behavior and identity are the new
certificates of talent.”Nexxworks
OLD way of thinkingabout work.
BETTER way of thinkingabout work.
MY BACKSTORY
Sarabeth Berk, PhD“Senior Director of Growth”
My formal job title
Kimberle Krenshaw
Intersectionality
Homi K.Bhabha
Profession
What is my professional identity?
Professional
identity
Professional
identity
Professional
identity
Professional
identity
Who am I at the intersection of
my multiple professional
identities?
Rene Magritte, Collective Invention, 1934
Sarabeth Berk, PhD“Creative Disruptor”
artist/researcher/educator/designer
WHAT IS IDENTITY?
Identity is a social construct.
It’s formed by our skills, talents, lived experiences, stories, self-confidence,
and how others see us.
4 QUESTIONS TO VALIDATE
YOUR IDENTITY
THREE TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
Experts
Specialists
SINGULARITY
Generalists
Freelancers
Jobcrafters
Multi-talented
T-shaped
Polymaths
Gig workersSINGULARITY MULTIPLICITY
SINGULARITY MULTIPLICITY HYBRIDITY
Missing Type
A hybrid professional integrates different professional identities and works at the intersections.
They INTEGRATE instead of SEPARATE their identities.
“It is not the things but the relationship between things”
- Katherine Hargreaves
INTRA=ONE
CROSS=See other
side
MULTI=Many
INTER=Between
TRANS=Beyond
SOURCE: Jo Bailey, I Can Make It Tasty
HYBRIDJACK-OF-ALL-TRADESEXPERT
EXAMPLES OF HYBRID PROFESSIONALS
Chip Wilson
Retail specialist
Snow Sport Athlete
Fabric scientist
?
Athleisure
LET’S EXAMINE YOUR PROFESSIONAL
IDENTITY
DOWNLOAD TODAY’S HANDOUTS:
● Professional Identity Word List
● Hybrid Identity Elevator Pitch
● What are your professional identities?
● Circle them on the handout or list them
● Turn your skills into identities● Don’t be afraid to add your
own identity words
BRAINSTORM
● Use daily● Light you up● Areas of expertise● You want to be
known for● Must haves
PRIMARY IDENTITIES NON-PRIMARY IDENTITIES
● Use occasionally● Light you up● Lesser areas of
expertise● Nice to have/ not
need to have
NARROW DOWN
2Primary
Professional identities
3Primary
Professional identities
4Primary
Professional identities
artist
educator researcher
artist + educator
artist + researcher
educator + researcher
artist + educator + researcher
DOWNLOAD TODAY’S HANDOUTS:
● Professional Identity Word List
● Hybrid Identity Elevator Pitch
HYBRID JOBS
● Human + computer/AI● Technical + non-technical ● Interdisciplinary● Cross-departmental functions● Internal/ external duties
QUALITIES OF HYBRID JOBS
● 57% of engineering positions now require business and leadership skills
● More than half of all IT jobs now require some form of digital design
● Marketing managers who know SQL make 41% more money than those who do not
HYBRID JOBS
Less vulnerable to automation compared to
all jobs
2019 Burning Glass* report projects that “hybrid jobs” will grow
twice as fast over the next decade and get paid 20% to 40%
more than other jobs.
HIRING HYBRIDS
How do you hire and interview this kind of talent?
● Connectors● Bridge builders● Translators● Multifaceted● Jacks/Jills-of-all-trades
HYBRIDS TEND TO BE CALLED
● Expert for a generalist role...they’ll feel out of their lane because they want to focus on one thing
● Generalist for a hybrid role...they will underperform because they don’t know how to integrate between different areas
● Hybrid for a generalist role...they’ll feel overstretched and annoyed that so much is on their plates
● Hybrid for an expert role...they’ll feel pigeonholed and stuck in a box again
REMEMBER, IF YOU HIRE A...
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Use the word “hybrid” to explicitly call out that quality.
The job title sounds hybrid or “new”
Job responsibilities are cross-functional, multi-sector, interdisciplinary or dual reporting
Work at the intersection of X, Y, and Z.
INTERVIEWING HYBRIDS
● Are they they a hybrid?
● What makes them a hybrid?
● How hybrid are they?
● Can they explain the relationship between their professional identities?
● People may not know they’re a hybrid, you have to educate them
WHEN INTERVIEWING A HYBRID
We’re no longer in a binary world.Who are you at the
intersection of your professional identities?
More Than My Title The Power of Hybrid Professionals in a Workforce of Experts and Generalists
Get more handouts, resources:
Morethanmytitle.com