ABCs of T-Shaped Leadership

John Maeda
2 min readSep 5, 2024

My journey as a doer-leader has ended up with this simple framework to arrange my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (MTWRF) routine. I use this to generally make headway on all the fronts I’m accountable for. I hope this framework is useful to you too!

I spelled dilemmas incorrectly, but kinda like this version the best :-)

T-Shaped Leadership Triad

The T-Shaped Leadership Triad is a dynamic framework that integrates interdisciplinary breadth with focused depth, guiding leaders in architecting strategies, building effective teams, and crafting successful outcomes across diverse areas of expertise.

ARCHITECTING: Leadership & Strategizing

  • A1: Drivers/
    Staying attuned to external forces and potential disruptions.
    Thrive and stay ahead.
  • A2: Diffusions/
    Spreading and embedding strategic ideas across the organization.
    Unite our vision.
  • A3: Divergences/
    Balancing new directives from above while maintaining essential decisions.
    Adapt and remain strong.

BUILDING: Managerial & Decision-Making

  • B1: Directives/
    Providing clear and actionable guidance.
    Guide with clarity.
  • B2: Dilemmas/
    Resolving complex issues and balancing conflicting demands.
    Choose the right path.
  • B3: Duties/
    Ensuring responsibilities are clearly…

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John Maeda

John Maeda: Technologist and product experience leader that bridges business, engineering, design via working inclusively. Currently VP Design and A.I. at MSFT.