While deep expertise in a given domain can lead to a successful career, it is also a more rigid approach which may limit the number of lateral opportunities. In contrast, adjacent skills can open doors and foster serendipity in a career. Long-term career trajectories have become increasingly mobile.
Building skills through adjacency
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “adjacent” as “having a common endpoint or border.”
- Adjacent skills are skills that are close or related to the ones you already have.
- You can usually use some of the knowledge from your existing skills to acquire adjacent skills.
Join 40,000 mindful makers!
Maker Mind is a weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.
- Work smarter and happier by joining a community of fellow curious minds who want to achieve their goals without sacrificing their mental health.
The benefits of adjacent skills
Increase empathy for teammates
- Improve communication
- Sustain motivation at work
- Build a distinctive viewpoint
- Expand career perspective
- Better evaluate candidates
- Know enough about someone else’s job to better assess their skill set
10 examples of adjacent skills
Adjacent skills are not always obvious
- Try to brainstorm as many potential new skills relevant to your current role as possible
- Choose one to focus on by asking yourself the following questions
- Intrinsically speaking, how curious am I about this skill?
- Based on my current skill set, how easy will it be to acquire this skill.
- How useful will this skill be?
