Conquering the ‘edge’ of skill development

Many of our career decisions and skilling plans fall for edge effect, but it goes unnoticed. What is the edge effect and how to address it in career context?

Edward de Bono, the person who originated the term “lateral thinking” passed away last month. Bono’s ideas were simple yet profound and were equally relevant both in school classrooms and Nobel halls. Here’s a look at one such concept called the “Edge effect”, which can be used in skill enhancement.

By isolating skills into sub-skill, micro-skills and nano-skills and then integrating and recycling them have many benefits.

Edge effect in upskilling

Action always stems from the edge. De Bono uses the analogy of a toy car that does not fall off the table – it falls off the edge of the table.

When it comes to careers, particularly to upskilling, one can see the value of the very next step in moving to any career destination. The ultimate dream career — if you believe such a thing exists — and skilling targets are much less important than the very next step we are expected to take. However attractive the final destination is, unless the action on the edge is taken, we remain stuck.

So the most important step that we always take is the next one. The success of career decisions, skill enhancement plans depend on how we manage these edges. In much of our career transitions and skill development pathways, the edge is always obscured by grand plans. In such career plans, skill development is a generic and aggregate term that fits the image of these career ladders.

From ladders to squiggles

Careers no longer remain predictable. The classic career ladders fade out and curled or coiled career paths appear. In a recent article, Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis speak about how careers not longer follow a predictable, linear path but are getting squigglier.

The idea of a climbing traditional career ladders might still be appealing for many of us, but moving frequently and fluidly between different roles, companies, and domains might soon be the new next normal.

For such squiggly careers, the edge effect makes more sense, especially when it comes to skill enhancement.

So for those who hesitate to make the leap from the edge, it is important to identify what your curiosity quotient is. To know your “curiosity profile” you can use the free assessment tool available with the Harvard Business Review. You can design your own “positive edge” depending on whether you are intellectually hungry, looking for unconventionality or possess experiential curiosity.

In effect, you are becoming your own instructional designer.

Another way to address the negative edge effect is to create multiple career scenarios.

Visualising scenarios frees us from thinking in terms of ladders to playing with options and portfolios, not ladders. Understanding the edges in each scenario lights up the most suitable next step to act upon — A path, instead of a ladder, opens up.

Distil the skills

A broad skill can be divided into sub-skills, micro-skills and further into nano-skills. Doing so helps you get confidence and clarity.

For instance, suturing itself is just one skill required in surgery and can be broken down into further micro-skills.

Musicians seem to inherently grasp this concept. Understanding and practicing a beginner’s notation can bring you faster to master the C-sharp rather than playing the C-sharp directly in the first attempt.

Distilling and isolating nano-skills increases the likelihood of making the next step easy and interesting. To push the edge forward, you need a dimensional plan.

A four-dimensional plan

An effective approach to becoming more skilled at anything is to learn sub-skills, not skills, says Danny Forest, a skill development expert.

He explains one language becomes easier by learning another language with lexical similarities. Many positive edges to a skill will only be visible if we break them down to further levels.

For every tiny skill level, we may look for four aspects: concepts, facts, procedures and queries.

Concepts are abstractions that we need to know to apply something. Facts are to be remembered or made available on demand. Procedures are steps that you need to practice. Queries are your doubts and areas seeking clarifications. Now take each tiny-skill. Using books, web, mentors, feedback and other resources, apply this template to each one of them.

The above approach has several benefits. First, it allows us to face the edges of the skills confidently. You can then group nano-skills and micro-skills together.

The skill of structuring, for instance, can be equally useful in programming and in essay writing; the skill of abstraction is useful in public speaking and in research.

Most of us aim to learn broader skills without thinking about what their sub-skills are. The finest career advice is useless unless we do not cross the edges. When you are aware of the sub-skills and its further distillations, you are better equipped to navigate the edges.

De Bono was a futurist. One of his titles on thinking published in 1972 reads ‘Think! Before it’s too late’. With squiggly career paths ahead, the edge effect is a wake up call for those who want to turn their future aspirations into reality.

(The author is an Education Officer with the University Grants Commission. Views are personal)