Promoted to director

Six months later, Jim was promoted to director.
Be well,
Dwika-ExecuTrain

Tip #2: How to be an Exceptional Technical Professional!
**STCerri

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