#3 May 2007
From Technologist to Leader
your path... your process... your success...
STCerri International Newsletter
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the May 2007 edition of "From Technologist to Leader". The newsletter structure is as follows:
The First Section is devoted to tips for technical professionals who want to be better as technical professionals.
The second section is devoted to tips for technical professionals who want to become managers and leaders.
The Third Section is devoted to tips for technical managers who want to be better.
Each successive newsletter brings you additional useful tips in each category.
Other sections will also be included that will address other topics such as interesting technical management news, upcoming tele-seminars, workshops, coaching, and CDs and ebooks.
The tips are all right here in this newsletter (it's a 15 minute read to some great tips). No links will take you away unless of course, you want to visit my website to find out more about the other topics.
Be well,
Steven
In This Issue
Tip #2: How to be an Exceptional Technical Professional!
Last month I talked about 9 behaviors that are critical to being an Exceptional Technical Professional. The first "Exceptional Performance Behavior" discussed in the last issue was, Taking Initiative. The second Exceptional Performance Behavior is called Gaining Perspective: Seeing the Big Picture. I'll explore that behavior here.
"Gaining Perspective: Seeing the Big Picture"
Most technical professionals are hired for their technical expertise. This quickly and reasonably translates into, "My company wants me to do my work well. My contribution is important to my success and the company's success."
However, this approach only works for a short time. It isn't long until the company wants you to fit into a team, into a broader framework. Fitting into that broader framework requires that you take on a broader perspective. Without it, you are doing your job in a vacuum. You are doing your job without understanding how it fits into the overall picture.
Therefore, the second tip to becoming an exceptional technical professional is to gain a broader perspective regarding you and your work. How does your work contribute to the larger project, the larger company or group objective? Get curious about how your piece of the analysis fits into the overall product. Get curious about how the customer views your portion of the product. Get curious about how the company decided to have you do what you are doing. Get curious about everything your work impacts, depends upon, and contributes to.
This isn't about being nosey. This isn't about being obnoxious. This isn't about being pushy. You only have to be curious and curiosity is a good thing. Now I know, as a technical professional, we have a tendency to feel that our work is "our work". We take great pride in creating. We take great pride in getting credit for what we do. Once again, that approach only works for the short term or if you can maintain a level of expertise that no one else in your company can match. If you have been an engineer for 30 years, you are still the expert in a subject, people seek you out for that expertise, and your company can't live without you, then you can ignore everything I'm writing here. But if you're not, then keep reading.
As I said, curiosity is a good thing. It tells people you want to understand how your work fits into the bigger frame. Your curiosity and openness will start a dialogue with others that will begin to include you in their work, in their thoughts, in their ideas. You'll find yourself sought out for your opinions, ideas, and suggestions. This is one of the nine ways in which you begin to expand your participation, importance, and contribution to the larger organization.
I can guarantee you that success in the long run, for your career, is not just about doing your own work well. It's also about knowing how your good work fits into the bigger product, project, or process. Expand your interest, your involvement, and your participation.
Here is a true example. Jim was an engineering manager. He managed 7 engineers. He thought his job was "problem solver". He ran around the company as if his "glass was half full". You know the type. There is always a problem lurking somewhere.
Well, Jim wasn't invited to meetings much. Decisions often were made without his participation. He felt excluded from the "bigger picture" at the company.
Jim asked me to coach him. After three months of coaching an interesting thing began to happen. People noticed that Jim didn't walk about with a "half empty glass" attitude. In fact, he was being invited to more meetings where he could have some input into his own destiny and the destiny of the company. He even found himself being invited to meetings on topics over which he had no control; the meeting managers wanted Jim there because he had become such a good facilitator of positive solutions. He became interested in more than just his team. He became interested in how all the different teams, including his, were working together to further the achievement of the company's goals. Six months later, Jim was promoted to director.
Be well,
Steven
Tip #2 To Move From Technologist to Technical Manager
"What You Say versus How You Say It"
As technical professionals we have been educated, trained, and conditioned, that's right, conditioned, to believe that "the one with the most accurate data, wins". We are convinced that all we have to do is put forth the accurate and true data and it's the "end of the discussion". However, as we move into management and leadership, we find that something called "influence" and "persuasion" become more and more important.
In fact, many decisions made at the management and leadership levels are not based on black and white, cold hard, factual data. They are made on a mixture of data, judgement, emotion, human factors, and fuzzy expectations about the future. The equation for this type of decision might look like this:
Data +
Judgement +
Motivation (Emotion) +
Human Resources +
Fuzzy Expectations About the Future = Best Answer
Of the five parameters on the left side of the equal sign, only data and Human Resources (to some extent) have anything to do with facts. And "facts" is the only variable category that doesn't rely on persuasion or influence. Therefore, most of the variables involved in management and leadership decisions rely on influence and persuasion.
And influence and persuasion rely as much on "how you say something" as on "what you say".
Therefore, if you are going to be successful as a manager and leader you must get clear that how you say something is as important, and in some ways, more important than what you say. This means that you will want to learn the skills of rapport building and influence and persuasion.
Here is just a simple example of the difference in meaning based on "how you say something". In each sentence below, read the sentence out loud and emphasize the syllable I have made bold.
I didn't steal your wallet.
I didn't steal your wallet.
I didn't steal your wallet.
I didn't steal your wallet.
I didn't steal your wallet.
Notice that as you read each line out loud and emphasize each bold word, the meaning of the sentence changes. it's the same sentence and yet a different meaning for each sentence.
How aware are you of the "meanings" you convey in your everyday conversations with your colleagues based solely on your emphasis on certain words? How aware are you of the "meanings" your "create" in the mind of the listener? Do you think that the meanings others get from you are the same meanings that you have in your mind of what you said. As Morphius said to Neo in the first Matrix movie, when they were in the sparring program, "You think that's air your breathing now?" My statement to you is, "You think those who hear your message hear the same message you intend?" Hmm.
Be well, Steven
Tip #2 For Technical Managers
"Create a Target"
Over the course of my management and leadership career I've worked closely with CEOs. CEOs are often labeled "leaders". And yet I've watched as many CEOs fail as succeed by their own actions, not by outside forces.
During my coursework for my MBA, I came across a book by Chester Barnard, titled, "The Functions of the Executive". This book had a significant impact on me and my future work. it began to inform my work with CEOs and other high-level executives. Every time I saw a leader fail or succeed it seemed that it was due to their management abilities, and every time I saw a manager succeed or fail it seemed to be due to their leadership abilities.
Over the course of years I began to develop a unique view about management and leadership. And that view is that to be a successful leader the leader must also be a good manager and to be a successful manager the manager must also be a leader (although this requirement is not as strenuous as that for the leader).
As I looked at CEOs and managers that I worked for and with, I began to formulate the idea of "executive functions" and this was an expansion of Barnard's ideas of The Functions of the Executive. I developed a structure called the Six Functions of the Executive©. These are six functions that both the manager and the leader (both are executives by my definition) must perform regardless of their level in the organization. However, the tasks to be performed by the executive (from supervisor to CEO) at each level in the organization differ depending upon their level in that organization. So all executives, from supervisor to CEO and leader must perform these six functions to be successful and yet the tasks each performs within these six functions is what differentiates the supervisor, from the manager, from the president, from the CEO.
The first function of the executive is to "Create a Target". Regardless of the level in the organization, the supervisor, the manager, the leader, must create (meaning create from scratch or interpret a directive from upper management) such that the executive is clearly "pointing" the team in the direction they are to go.
Every team must have a direction. Call it mission, vision, goal, target, milestone, or deadline. The executive, leader, manager, must point the team, group, department, platoon, or company at something to be achieved. It is the responsibility of every person who leads anyone, even themselves, to point toward an outcome, and it is the first of Six Functions of the Executive; in this case, you, the Technical Manager.
Therefore, for every current technical manager here are some questions:
The answers to these questions should optimally be:
1 through 5 = yes
6 = stable
7 = no
8 = absolutely
Be well,
Steven
On-Going Tele-Seminars to Choose From!
As I said in my last newsletter, I was working on scheduling more tele-seminars. I've done it. I've scheduled a tele-seminar per month for the reminder of this year.
You can go to...
http://stevencerri.com/index.php/PublicCalendar/Free_Tele_Seminars/
and you will see the topics for each tele-seminar. By providing your name and email address just once you will have access to the tele-seminar phone number and bridge access number. If I already have your email address, there is no need to worry about duplication, my email database automatically removes duplicates. And if you attended any of my previous tele-seminars, the numbers you have will work for all future tele-seminars as well. Once you have the phone number and access bridge you can attend all tele-seminars with registering for each one separately.
Latest Blog Topics
I've set up a blog website at http://www.stevencerri.com. This blog site is updated once a week, every Monday, with new ideas and tips and suggestions for you to review and apply to your career advancement.
These are the most recent blog topics added:
CDs
CD #1: "Delegation Tele-Seminar"
CD #2: "10 Success Criteria for Becoming A Manager"
CD #3: "Transitioning from Technologist to Manager"
Purchase CDs
Coaching
Coaching is one of the fastest ways to accelerate with your career advancement. There are three reasons to get coaching:
1. You know you want to be somewhere else in your career but you're not quite sure how to get there or even where you want to get to...
2. You want to effectively overcome a crisis and you want advice, guidance and coaching on how to turn that crisis around...
3. You want to acquire a specific skill you now is missing and you want it now.
Coaching can help you fast in each of these situations. To learn more about coaching, click on the link below:
Coaching with Steven
Skype Has Been Added
For those of you who would rather use Skype for our coaching sessions, especially those who are international, Skype has now been added as a capability. Just download Skype to your computer and set up an appointment, and we can conduct a tele-coaching session with both voice and video! In a few days you'll also find a Skype button on my website for your convenience.
STCerri International is focused solely on helping technical professionals transition to management and leadership. The difference that makes the difference is that Steven Cerri is an engineer, a scientist, and a business. He teaches, trains, and coaches technologists from the point of view of having done it himself.
I hope you find the information in this newsletter and other products useful in your career advancement. Send questions, comments, and suggestions to: steven@stevencerri.com
Be well,
Steven Cerri
STCerri International
Copyright 2007© STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. I only ask that you reproduce sections in whole and you give attribution to STCerri International. Thank you.