Competing for Exec Archives

You Screwed Up

Today was a rough day. Made a major mistake, called out by the boss in the team meeting. As a rising tech exec, always been a top performer, but recognition for hard work has been limited.

While your leadership team acknowledges your efforts, your peers remain silent. However, you observe a subtle smirk on their faces when news of the mistake reaches them. Moreover, you overhear a conversation where two peers seem to revel in the error. Why might they exhibit this unexpected behavior? Remember, we are all fallible humans, prone to making mistakes. It’s an inevitable part of the human experience, even for our peers.

Jealousy is a common but unfortunate human trait that often manifests itself in unfavorable ways. Finding effective methods to navigate and address these situations can be challenging. How would you handle such a scenario?

Keep in mind, you are a top performer, and you always treat work with the highest professionalism. Don’t let one incident tear you down. Be a better person and ignore the digs from your peers, don’t let it anger you.
Talk to your boss about having a better way to communicate issues when they occur. Sure, the team needs to know because it impacts them. But pointing out that you were at fault in such a public forum probably could have been handled better.
Demonstrate to your peers how to behave when one of your fellow teammates has a similar issue. Take the person aside and be empathetic. Let them know that they are human and it’s okay to make a mistake. Ask if you can help them.

Be a better person than those who revel in the pain of others.

As an emerging leader, your display of empathy will undoubtedly be noticed by those in leadership positions. However, it is imperative to acknowledge your misstep and learn from it, ensuring that such a mistake is not repeated in the future.

Tech Executive Power – Don’t Use it to Harm Others

I was reading the book, “The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.” And although this is a really good book that a budding tech exec needs to read, I’m also saddened by it.

The book emphasizes the importance of executives mastering the 48 laws of power to achieve success. These laws shed light on cunning techniques, such as ensnaring a fellow leader to undermine their influence, that many may find distasteful.

To pursue a successful tech executive path to the top, it’s crucial to comprehend the principles outlined in this book. Effective leaders utilize these techniques, which have been proven to work. However, it doesn’t imply that you must apply them exactly as described in the book, especially the historical examples that highlight similar approaches to advancement or removing obstacles in your path. Remember, adaptability is key.

Reality is that many leaders reach where they are because they crave and use power in order to be successful.

Power techniques can be ruthless, and many inexperienced leaders will struggle to deploy these. However, even if you don’t use them, knowing that others do will help you avoid the pitfalls.

Click here for a post on finding your leadership style.

Tech Executive Matching Personalities

To excel in your tech executive career, focus on connecting with others by matching personalities during interactions. The key lies in grasping and adjusting to their unique communication styles and personalities. This is important because people like people who are like them. You don’t want to be phony because you want to be your authentic self. However, you also want to be able to adapt and communicate effectively with different types of people.

One way to connect with others is by understanding the four main personality types: dominant, influential, steady, and conscientious. Dominant individuals tend to be assertive and direct in communication, while influential individuals are outgoing and persuasive. Steady individuals are more reserved and cooperative, while conscientious individuals are analytical and detail oriented.

Once you have identified someone’s primary personality type, try mirroring their style of communication.

For example, if you are interacting with a dominant individual, be direct and concise in your messaging. If you are communicating with an influential person, use storytelling techniques or appeal to their emotions. For steady individuals, take a more patient and empathetic approach, and for conscientious individuals, provide them with logical reasoning and evidence.

It is also important to understand that individuals may have a blend of different personality types. In this case, it is best to adapt your communication style based on the situation and the person’s current behavior.

Encouraging authentic self-expression is important. However, adapting communication style and using similar terms when interacting with others can lead to favorable outcomes and effective connections.

For example, in sales, conducting thorough research on clients prior to meetings is crucial. Learning about their interests, including any charitable involvement, can be an effective conversation opener. By understanding their communication style, you can adjust your approach to establish rapport, encourage openness, and foster a sense of commonality in how you communicate.

This technique can also be applied to your boss. Utilize the same approach to build a positive rapport with your leader. Conflicting personalities tend to clash, hindering progress. To advance in your career, it is crucial to comprehend your boss’s working style.

In our upcoming posts, we will delve into the fascinating realm of business chemistry. This scientifically grounded approach offers valuable insights in discerning a person’s distinct personality type. Stay tuned for an exploration of this intriguing topic!

It’s crucial to acknowledge that mirroring or understanding a tech executive’s style boosts the chances of gaining their acceptance.

Click here to see a post on aligning your personality with peers in order to be successful.

Virtual Conferences

Everyone is working virtually, if not fulltime, at least parttime. This makes connecting with people a challenge. Tech execs need to factor virtual ways of working as part of their technology strategy.

The virtual world presents challenges for professionals, especially newcomers. How to stand out on Zoom, Teams, and other platforms? It’s not easy. Mistakes, even the ones you are unaware of, are common.

New Way of Operating

Virtual conferences have become the standard way to meet at many organizations. Just like physical conferences, there are rules: be on time, turn on your camera, and actively participate. Following the rules is the first step to getting noticed, but it may vary depending on the organization and team. Getting an appropriate share of speaking time can be challenging with a competitive crowd. So, be nice and use the “raise hand” button, while avoiding jumping in too often or talking over leaders. These are just some of the mistakes to avoid. It’s important to have something valuable to contribute to the conversation, rather than speaking for the sake of being heard.

Leaders may be expected to talk

Believe it or not, some leaders feel the need to talk excessively during virtual meetings, repeating what’s already been said without adding value. Unfortunately, being the boss, nobody tells them to stop. Another mistake is ignoring these bosses’ judgment on your participation in the conference call. Though Joe may not have had valuable input, listening connected and enabled him to. So, if you find yourself being quiet Joe with a talkative boss, occasionally interject with a “thank you” or an insightful comment to show your involvement. Remember, adding meaningful input is key.

To “add meaty” and make the best impression you can, you need to do the following:

Check the meeting invite for the topic and attendees. Make sure you’ve accepted the invite.
Prepare – do your research on the topic and get to know who the people are who will be attending the call and their roles.
Create a bulletized list of topics that you could potentially discuss during the call.
Email the meeting organizer to ask if there is an expectation for everyone to provide some level of input during the call. If there was no agenda, or the agenda was not clear, this is a good time to get clarity from the meeting organizer.
Be on time to the call.
Dress neat – interpret how you should dress based on the kind of call and the culture of your organization. Virtual meetings are usually fairly informal.
Turn on your camera and smile – say hi to the crowd.
Use the “raise hand” button to be given a smooth transition into the conversation. You can also just start talking during pauses, if there are any.
Don’t talk over people. If you do, say sorry and defer to the person you stepped on.
Take notes so that you can respond to any requests or answer questions after the call.
Give a nice wave and smile at the end. Say something like, “talk to you all again soon.”

You’ll have virtual meetings where people don’t turn on their cameras. If everyone is doing it, that’s okay. The objective of these calls is to accomplish something, which doesn’t always require following all the virtual meeting rules.

When you don’t want to turn on your camera

Sometimes, you may feel uncomfortable turning on the camera due to the time of day or exhaustion. In such cases, especially if others have their cameras on, you can simply explain, “Apologies for not having my camera on. I’ve had back-to-back calls today, and I’m a bit worn out.” Usually, people will understand, unless the talkative boss is on the call. Knowing your audience is crucial, and in the case of the talkative boss, I always turn on the camera.

We’ll talk more about virtual meetings in the future.

Moving from Corporate to Consulting

Some dream of transitioning from a corporate software developer role to consulting or Big 4. Travel and the potential for more money add allure. However, the move is not for everyone and can be stressful if unprepared. Does it accelerate the path to becoming a tech exec?

Let’s determine if the consulting world is right for you. As a software developer, you’ll work on projects with a team, either at a client site or virtually. Junior focus on coding, while senior roles also involve pre-sales as a subject matter expert.

What’s the difference?

This is not much different from your current corporate software development team. The point is, you’ll be leaving a well-structured environment one with more stress. Clients have high expectations and constantly assess the quality of your work. If you excel at what you do, this won’t be a big deal. However, consulting company leaders are often pressured to quickly place you in a role, so you’re not sitting on the bench.

Project assignments

Leadership “markets” you to assign you to a project. Ideal fit can be secondary to project assignment, with revenue generation as the primary factor. Consider your flexibility and adaptability in handling change and stress. Making it past the first two years is a good sign for growth and advancement.

Up or out

Big 4 consulting firms (Deloitte, E&Y, PWC, and KPMG) follow an up-or-out model. you don’t get promoted within a specific timeframe (usually two years), they let you go. This can be unsettling for those transitioning from a corporate setup with no fixed promotion expectations.

Mix of assignments

Assuming you’re not assigned to a long-term project, rotating clients and projects is a great way to build experience. It keeps things interesting, avoiding the mundane grind of doing the same thing every day for years. However, if you prefer certainty and not having to learn anything new, consulting might not be the right fit for you.

As a consultant, each role offers an opportunity to learn and adapt to new job requirements and work environments. The pace can be demanding, as clients expect more productivity. However, there are chances to shine and make a lasting impression. Building a good rapport with clients may result in project extensions, which are highly valued by consulting companies. Consultants who excel in extending projects are rewarded with higher raises and promotions. If you thrive in a competitive environment, consulting is ideal for you.

I’m rambling and there is a lot more to this topic, but let’s summarize the pros and cons of the consulting world:

Pros:

Dynamic and fast paces
Quicker promotions and more money
Travel and interesting project locations

Cons:

Fast paced and lots of uncertainty
Stress and high expectations
Uncertainty of roles or work assignments

Being a consultant requires a particular mindset. Work-life balance may be challenging, with frequent on-the-road assignments. Temporary dislike of assigned work and constant self-evaluation can induce stress. However, if you progress up the chain (up-or-out), the rewards are significant.