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

sarabeth@morethanmytitle.com