Let's talk about the ability to reach across the organization.

An underestimated skill that can emerge once an individual demonstrates repeatable success in their core skills.

What does it demonstrate?

From the employee, it demonstrates trust in the whole of the organization and sufficient confidence to ask for help. From the employer, it demonstrates confidence in the employee's resourcefulness. It can also be an informal milestone, where the employee may demonstrate readiness ready for boundary spanning roles with external stakeholders.

When can it happen?

When an employee is given a project or larger-scale tasking for which they are missing a key capability or experience and can gain from the input and expertise of an in-company expert in a different field. For instance, when an engineering project can benefit from marketing expertise to ensure the project can not only be readily employable, but create user experience with a customer feedback loop and how to attract demand for the project's outcome.

Also, it can be an employee-driven initiative, generally approved by their immediate leadership, to implement in-company lateral expertise toward their current project or task. An example might include an artistic director for a distillery to gain inspiration for a new logo and advertising graphics by getting a walk through the supply chain and entire operational process to understand the elements of quality and craftsmanship toward branding.

The ability to solve problems borrowing from beyond one's knowledge base in a way that includes buy in of lateral expertise is a great way to create untapped value for your company's projects, create internal synergies that can reap external value, and show that you're ready to solve bigger and more valuable problems.