I had the privilege of addressing a group of tech professionals, including a senior executive recently affected by a layoff. They were actively building their network. These individuals, feeling frustrated and confused despite being strong performers, found themselves singled out due to strategic decisions by their companies. Factors such as team restructuring, discontinuing underperforming products, or identifying lower-performing employees often dictate such decisions. Unfortunately, this group fell into the bottom 10-15% targeted for downsizing.
Job security remains a constant concern when working for others, as the threat of a layoff can emerge unexpectedly.
To navigate these disheartening and stressful situations, tech professionals should unite and collaborate. Launching successful projects can provide protection and the freedom of self-employment. Leverage your technical skills to start a blog, earn affiliate income, and undertake consulting projects. By sharing resources, you can mitigate the risks associated with working solo.
Often, meeting a group of like-minded individuals facing common challenges sparks creativity. It also allows for the exploration of new ideas and concepts that may not have been considered otherwise. Collaborating with others can lead to the discovery of new opportunities and potential partnerships, providing a sense of security and stability in an ever-changing industry.
Furthermore, building a strong network within the tech community can provide valuable connections for job opportunities or potential clients. By staying connected with other professionals, you increase your chances of finding future employment or securing freelance projects.
In addition to networking, it is essential to continuously upskill and stay updated on industry trends.
This will not only make you more marketable but also ensure that you are equipped with the latest knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the fast-paced tech world. Attending conferences, workshops, and online courses can help you stay current and relevant in the industry.
While job security may seem elusive in the tech industry, it is crucial to remember that there are always opportunities available for those who are willing to adapt and innovate. By staying connected, collaborating with others, and continuously learning, tech professionals can overcome challenges and thrive in their careers.
In conclusion, don’t let a layoff or uncertain job market discourage you – instead, use it as an opportunity to connect with others and building your network. After all, the tech community is all about innovation and resilience. Therefore, by working together and supporting one another during difficult times, we can create a stronger and more secure tech industry for everyone.
As a tech executive, leveraging the multi-geo location model is crucial for the success of any project. While managing a team in a single location presents its own challenges, working with teams spread across multiple locations offers the significant advantages of a global presence and access to diverse talent pools. However, effectively navigating and harnessing the power of distributed teams requires strategic planning and execution.
To address the challenges that arise from distributed teams, it is essential to establish clear roles and interactions within the project team, which includes vendors and the Business Unit. One of the common issues faced is the overlapping of tasks, leading to disruptions and timeline challenges. Miscommunications often result from unclear responsibilities, which can derail the progress of the project. Therefore, defining roles, responsibilities, and developing a robust communication model is crucial. While cultivating a collaborative team culture is essential, ensuring balanced leadership levels within the team is also advantageous. It is important to have one individual accountable for defining and ensuring that roles and responsibilities are well-understood by all team members.
To effectively manage distributed teams, prioritize the following activities:
Foster an open communication environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and concerns.
Actively update and maintain a status dashboard, ensuring all relevant parties have input and access to current information.
Set firm deadlines for decision-making and consistently adhere to them to prevent delays.
Ensure subject matter experts are utilized to their fullest potential and are involved at the appropriate stages of the project.
Hold knowledge transfer sessions when new team members are onboarded, and plan for these sessions as part of the project schedule.
Formalizing project commitment across the team is essential.
A well-executed project plan goes beyond just a schedule; it requires commitment across various disciplines. Without this commitment, team leads may prioritize their department’s tasks without considering interdependencies with other teams. To ensure clarity and alignment, all team leads should review and approve the plan, which includes the risk register, role assignments, and the work breakdown structure. The project plan should reflect a collective agreement of all those responsible for execution. Shared responsibility fosters a cohesive approach to achieving project goals.
Planning projects with multiple working units necessitates a team-wide understanding of key assumptions about the future.
Project teams often make assumptions without validating them with other stakeholders, which can lead to misaligned expectations. It is critical for project management and the team to actively raise and validate these assumptions together throughout the project lifecycle. Verified assumptions should be formally documented in project records to ensure transparency and accountability.
Remember the importance of regular communication.
Often, project teams aren’t naturally inclined to communicate with each other, which can create silos and hinder progress. During project planning, prioritize effective communication by involving all stakeholders early in the process. Develop a comprehensive written communication plan to facilitate successful information exchange and alignment of expectations with project goals.
In summary, the key to successfully managing distributed teams and achieving project success lies in strategic planning, clear communication, and collaborative execution. By addressing these areas, tech executives can effectively lead their teams to deliver successful outcomes in an increasingly global and interconnected world.
As you progress in your journey as a tech exec, you will encounter a diverse range of individuals and interact with various personalities. Amongst them, the most vexing leader to work with is undoubtedly the micromanager. Learning how to manage a micromanager can make your life much easier.
This person needs to be in control and wants to know everything you are doing. This is painful because you really need to be on your toes. There is a lot of extra work with a leader who is a micromanager because they constantly want to know what you are working on and want to provide lots of input.
Managing the micromanager
If you’re new and unfamiliar to the micromanager, it takes time to establish comfort. Follow their instructions, stay patient, and they’ll value your ability to comply. Eventually, most micromanagers become more lenient, but trust takes time. The trick is to gain trust swiftly. Here’s what you can do:
Regular updates – frequent status reports will help your manager feel good about your activities.
Face to face meetings – the more your manager sees you, the more comfortable they are that you are focusing on work.
Frank conversations – Although this might be uncomfortable, talk to your manager about giving you more space. Explain that you feel good about where you are with your work, and that you feel like you can be independent.
Micromanagers often display signs of insecurity and tend to have nervous personalities. Building a connection and understanding their interests can help foster a positive relationship. Take advantage of opportunities to discuss topics like family, activities, and sports to create common ground.
Building a connection based on shared experiences, such as attending the same university, can help foster a sense of comfort and trust. This, in turn, allows for more flexibility and understanding in your interactions. However, it’s important to remember that cultivating such connections requires patience and investment of time.
Patience is tough
Your manager may frustrate you, but patience and controlling your temper is key. Showing anger or impatience with a micromanager won’t help. Consistently updating your manager and demonstrating success will eventually lead to the freedom you desire. Stay guarded until your manager becomes comfortable with you.
In summary, remain composed, even in situations where your manager scrutinizes your work, seemingly due to a lack of trust. It’s not solely about trust, but rather a matter of control. Dealing with such personalities can be challenging, but rest assured, you will gain valuable insights from these experiences.
As a technology executive, it’s crucial to manage projects efficiently and cost-effectively. When transitioning projects offshore, integrate them into your overall operational technology model instead of replacing onsite staff. This strategy fosters smoother acceptance and allows the offshore team to seamlessly integrate into your organization, enabling the addition of offshore resources as needed.
India, Mexico, South America, and the Philippines have become key destinations for project staffing. While managing projects across various locations is inherently challenging, relying on offshore third-party teams adds an extra layer of complexity. In this section, we will discuss some of the unique challenges faced when managing projects in these locations and how to address them.
Challenges in Managing Projects Across Multiple Locations
Managing projects across multiple locations can be a daunting task for even the most experienced project managers. From communication barriers to cultural differences, there are various challenges that need to be addressed to ensure successful project management. And when it comes to managing projects in offshore locations like India, Mexico, South America, and the Philippines, these challenges become more complex.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key challenges faced by project managers when managing projects in these countries:
Communication Barriers
One of the biggest hurdles faced while working with offshore teams is the communication barrier. Differences in time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings and delays in project progress. To overcome this challenge, it’s crucial to establish clear and effective communication channels from the very beginning of the project. This can include using common project management tools for documentation and tracking progress, conducting regular meetings with all stakeholders, and setting expectations for response times.
Cultural Differences
Each country has its own unique culture, customs, and work practices that can significantly impact project management. For instance, countries like India and Mexico have a more hierarchical business structure where decisions are made at the top level. On the other hand, countries like South America and the Philippines value collaboration and teamwork. It’s essential for project managers to understand these cultural differences and adapt their management approach accordingly.
Technology and Infrastructure Limitations
Project managers may also face challenges when it comes to technology and infrastructure limitations in offshore locations. In countries like India, Philippines, and South America, access to reliable internet connection and updated software can be limited. This can lead to delays in project progress and hinder communication between team members. To mitigate this challenge, it’s important for project managers to plan ahead and provide necessary resources or workarounds for team members.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Different countries have different legal and regulatory requirements that need to be followed while managing projects. Project managers need to be aware of these regulations and ensure that all project activities are in compliance with them. This can include data privacy laws, employment laws, and tax regulations. Ignoring these requirements can lead to legal issues and jeopardize the success of the project.
Third Parties
When collaborating with a third party, it’s crucial to embrace their established processes. You chose this organization for their expertise, not just cost savings. Offshore development organizations exhibit remarkable efficiency by refining their processes. Unpleasant encounters often arise from misunderstandings or resistance. Successful collaboration with a third party requires understanding their methods and reaching agreements to integrate work harmoniously. Remember, no two organizations are identical.
It is crucial to have a proficient project manager working onsite in collaboration with an equally adept manager offsite who comprehends the dynamics of both realms. This synergy ensures a seamless workflow and maximizes efficiency.
To foster collaboration and streamline issue resolution, it’s crucial for external individuals to grasp the organizational structure of the hiring company. In a typical setup, an on-site Program Manager interfaces with the Business Unit. For larger programs, the Program Manager’s team includes multiple product managers leading project teams. These teams consist of a project manager, as well as professionals responsible for business analysis, development, testing, and deployment.
The Program Manager works with the project managers to delineate the work to be sent offshore.
Offshore Success
To make the move to an offshore team happen successfully there are a number of activities that need to be completed for the smooth transition of project work:
Establish a PMO offshore to manage building the new operation. If you are leveraging an offshore provider, they will provide the project infrastructure to support the transition. Leverage the PMO to help coordinate on-boarding activities to fill in leadership gaps until all leaders are in place.
Perform a one-to-one mapping of skills to those being hired offshore in order to understand the level of skills transfer/ shadowing required. Keep in mind that just replacing staff, one to one based on a schedule, is not a transition plan.
Assign onsite leadership to work with PMO and take ownership of transition.
Identify and/ or hire the management team offshore who will replace or supplement and interface with the management team onsite. Keep in mind that the offshore team will now “own” the resources.
Identify the project ordering (what projects are going) for transition, starting with less complex efforts in order to demonstrate success, hone the transition process, and allow the base team offshore to become established.
Build the transition plan to include BU and Program leadership who will assist in the training of new staff. This will help smooth the transition as leadership will become comfortable that domain and business knowledge is being retained.
Since the new offshore team members haven’t collaborated before (unless through a third party), they will initially lack a sense of cohesion.
Without bonding and unfamiliarity between offshore, onsite, and new recruits, achieving project continuity during site transitions can be challenging. This is particularly true if the onsite team is unaware of the cultural working norms in the offshore location.
Add to the concern that these recruits are unfamiliar with your company’s processes and tools. This puts pressure on the offshore leadership team to establish expectations, scope, and roles for the new hires. The onshore leadership team must also actively assist in training and orienting the new offshore team.
We’ve been discussing the development of a technology strategy. A crucial step in this process is for the tech executive to conduct a tech strategy interview with other leaders, gathering their insights to ensure everyone feels included and has contributed to the strategy.
A strategy without consensus typically falls apart.
Some of the questions that you’ll want to include in the interviews are:
General Questions
Can you provide a snapshot overview of your group, i.e., size, business focus areas?
What are your organizations priorities/ the strategic objectives?
Is your group a strong consumer of technology?
If yes, what applications do you use on a regular basis? Are there external applications that you use?
Tech Strategy Environment Questions
Today, do you feel that technology is supporting your business strategy?
If not, what do you see are the current issues?
What would you like to see for future technology initiatives?
Are there areas where you feel automation could help reduce cost or increase productivity?
What do you consider the highest value systems today? Which have the highest risk – client, regulatory or brand issues?
Do you know who to communicate with for IT issues? Who is your contact?
In your area, are there regulatory and legal other legal obligations that IT must be aware of? How are these obligations communicated?
Do you feel that there is a good level of customer satisfaction related to IT and IT systems?
IT Operations Management
Do you feel the IT systems that you use are stable and perform well?
Do you feel that the IT systems you use are high quality? What can be improved?
IT Innovation Management
Is there confidence within the business towards IT and the services provided?
Do you feel IT today provides a process and mechanism to improve or transform the business? Do you feel it could in the future?
Is IT today viewed as a “Business Partner”? What is the perception of the IT team?
Do you feel IT is supporting/ understands new and strategic business opportunities? How are business opportunities communicated to IT?
Tech Strategy Closing Questions
This project is critical to helping build a solid and integrated set of initiatives for supporting business growth. What areas do you feel need attention or could really add value, from your perspective?
Anyone else who you feel we should contact to discuss IT systems and/or strategy?
Do you have any additional thoughts? May we contact you again if we need to follow-up details?
The tech strategy interview is an important step in the strategy build process. Use this interview framework as a starting point. The best interview is freeform, comfortable, and covers the mentioned key areas. As an executive, asking strong questions for a deeper technology needs assessment is critical. Share findings with interviewees after completing the process. Ensuring understanding and agreement is important for strategy success.
