'Shapeshifters' is not a new thing. It's certainly not something we've invented. You know them, you might be one of them. If our theory is correct, all organisations have them, or at least all organisations above a certain size.

Yet these roles are very different from each other, even beyond the variety of job titles:

• Some people step into a dedicated role that roughly corresponds to what we describe as a shapeshifter.
• Some mould a role around themselves as they exert their shapeshifter skills in an organisation.
• Some do shapeshifter work on top of other responsibilities.
• Some whose skillset and default focus is 'on the shapeshifter spectrum' occupies an adjacent role — in product, management, data, change, or HR.
• Shapeshifters may be contractors, consultants, or solopreneurs, brought in for a moment, then moving on – or they might work in-house, sometimes on a fractional basis.

The pages below offer an exploration through those various ways shapeshifting careers evolve

In-House or On-Demand: two Modes of Shapeshifting

Iconic In-House Shapeshifter Roles

Shapeshifter-Adjacent Professionals