Hybrid thinkers, rising

Every January feels like a blank page. But this year, that page looks more like a prism – a single surface refracting into many colours and many paths. And as David Sheldon-Hicks (Founder at Territory Studio) put it:

“The future belongs to hybrid thinkers, and we’re structuring Territory around that principle.”

It’s a sentiment that applies far beyond creative studios. Across tech, the people who can operate between disciplines (engineering and design, AI and strategy, product and storytelling) are becoming the ones who drive the direction of industries.

We’re not talking about generalists here. Hybrid thinkers are connectors, and they make innovation move. 

Digital literacy is everyone’s job now 

A major 2025 study from McKinsey put it like this: “We are all techies now.” Their analysis shows that digital tools (including AI) have spread so widely across organisations that every function, not just engineering, requires technical fluency.

Marketing teams automate analysis with AI, and finance teams rely on low-code platforms. Designers prototype with real-time engines, while product managers evaluate model outputs.

The old boundary between technical and non-technical roles is disappearing.

And the first mark of a hybrid thinker is a posture of continuous learning across domains.

Skills gaps are widening – but between disciplines, not within them

According to the Pluralsight 2025 report on tech skills, skill gaps are beginning to derail innovation. 

The report found that 48% of IT professionals and 58% of business professionals reported having to abandon projects in the past year because their organisation lacked critical technical skills.

And 95% of IT and business professionals say they need more support to build those skills.

Importantly, the report doesn’t point to a shortage of narrow experts – it highlights missing cross-functional capabilities:

• cloud and architecture that intersect with business logic
• AI/ML skills that influence product strategy
• DevOps practices that connect operations and development

These gaps appear at the intersections of expertise. And that’s exactly where hybrid thinkers sit. 

The definition of ‘engineer’ is expanding

In the UK, The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Engineers 2030 review describes a shifting professional profile. The engineer of the 21st century is expected to blend:

• technical expertise
• systems thinking
• communication
• ethical reasoning
• interdisciplinary collaboration

Rather than soft skills, these are now foundations. Because engineering is increasingly about designing systems that live inside society; which requires the ability to think across boundaries, and understand people, context, culture, and impact. 

AI raises the value of human versatility

A 2024 academic analysis on the ways in which AI increases the demand for human skills suggests that as AI adoption grows inside organisations, demand increases for human skills that complement AI. Things like digital literacy, teamwork, adaptability, and ethical reasoning.

Rather than reducing the need for versatile human talent, AI heightens it. 

Because hybrid thinkers understand how to organise human-machine collaboration. They know when to trust an output, how to question a model, and how to blend automated insight with domain intuition.

Hybrid teams outperform siloed ones

A report from EY and iMocha on the transformation of tech skills argues that “technology skills are permeating every job role, regardless of industry or function”.

And nearly three in ten organisations expect they’ll need to revamp tech skills for around a third of their talent base by 2025 to stay competitive.

This is about structure. Teams that encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration tend to:

• adapt more effectively to new tools
• reduce friction between units
• connect strategy with execution

Hybrid thinkers help teams see the whole system, not just their segment of it. That systems-wide visibility is becoming a defining skill in an era when industries are interlinking through shared technologies.

How to think more hybrid in 2026

1. Build a second skill vertical (not a side hobby)
   If you’re an engineer, learn about narrative or product shaping. If you’re a designer, get comfortable with real-time pipelines or ML workflows. If you’re a leader, deepen your technical reasoning. Focus on expanding your knowledge and skills, rather than reskilling completely.
2. Follow tools that flatten boundaries
   Real-time engines, generative design tools, LLM-powered assistants, low-code platforms – they all connect disciplines.
3. Work intentionally with people outside your domain
   Hybrid thinking is a social skill. You learn it through exposure – through the conversations that stretch your worldview.
4. Show integration in your portfolio
   Employers and collaborators increasingly look for the how, not just the what. Explain the crossovers as well as the milestones. 

As we move into the new year, we think we’ll see more breakthroughs emerge from the spaces between fields; where design meets data and AI meets creativity and ethics meet engineering. 

If you’re ready to sharpen your hybrid skill set – or meet the people already building at the intersections – get your pass now for LEAP 2026. Explore the Investor Lounge, the Matchmaking Zone, and the Rocket Fuel pitch competition to find collaborators who think beyond categories.