You may be asking yourself, ‘why am I reading this tech blog that has absolutely nothing about tech?’  Funny because I’m asking myself the same question about ‘why am I writing about non-tech stuff in my own tech blog?’  I have a purpose for everything that I’ve posted.  I’m laying the foundation for something bigger than tech.  Please be patient, but for now, these are the nuggets that I’ve discovered in my career that I hope can someday help someone else.  The ‘cyber’ nuggets will come eventually – until then, this is my way to contribute to the community.

I recently had the pleasure of attending a three-day workshop that focused on leadership development.  Having never been part of a program like that before, I found myself being intentional about taking full advantage of the information provided to me in those three days.  One of the most important concepts I learned was the power of feedback.  As a leader, it is considered one of the most important tools you have for your directs.  Feedback is essential in identifying ones strengths and weaknesses, but it is also a critical agent of change.

Change is constant in the world of technology – especially cyber security.  Shifting and competing priorities often create and overwhelming environment for some.  One of my direct reports was struggling to understand this and as a result, was stuck trying to find a successful path in their current job.  I took the opportunity to ‘coach’ this individual with the hope of inspiring them to do great things with the tasks that were front of them – to make a change for the better.  The conversation went a little something like this:

Me: Hey, is it okay to give you some feedback?

Them: Yeah, sure, fire away.

Me: Well, that communication you sent out last week to Jane about the project was great!  It was articulated well and it was provided in a timely manner.  When you make the effort to communicate effectively to our customers, it shows that their request is important to you. Good job, I’d like to see more of that style of communication for your other projects.

Them: Thank you for that, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to notice and respond to that message.  It makes me feel like my contributions matter.

(End)

This is an simplified but true example of how effective timely feedback and communication can be the backbone of success in a technology environment that is highly volatile.  Since that conversation, my direct report has nearly doubled his communication to stakeholders about what he is working on and has improved keeping me in the loop on his progress with all of his efforts.

My point is this – we live in a world where we are feed data on a constant basis, whether it’s a news feed, social media feed or a weather feed, we ALWAYS have the methods to know what is going on at any given point in the day.  The information I receive on a minute by minute basis influences many decisions that I make throughout my day.  If it’s important for me to have that information at my fingertips, it may be just as important for me to practice effectively communicating to my stakeholders to keep them informed as well.  Whether it’s me providing an employee timely feedback about that thing they did or me giving my customer a daily update on a project that may last a few weeks, the power of communication is one that must be understood by anyone looking to have a long-lasting and successful career in technology.