The Technologist’s Conundrum: Products or People
Posted on August 29, 2016 by Cheryl Warner, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Technologists are often challenged to be the smartest in the room. That changes when they climb the leadership ranks; then they need people skills.
Product Focus
You worked hard to achieve an engineering or scientific degree, perhaps more than one. You are awesome at problem solving, and frequently excel at new ideas and innovation. You may not always be the smartest person in the room, but you can definitely hold your own.
Ever feel like the rules for advancement changed without you being notified?
Suddenly you find yourself thinking, “They promoted who?! Seriously, how could that happen? What are they thinking? What do they see that I don’t? I’m way smarter than they are…”.
Good news: you may well be smarter than those promoted. The not-so-good news is, yes, the focus does change for those seeking success and promotion into and up the leadership ranks. No longer is your goal to be-the-best technologist in the room. Your goal is now to be-the-best at people and teamwork while building the best technology. Products and People.
As an engineer or scientist you are encouraged to observe, analyze, organize, create, construct, critique, and generally operate in the world of products, services, and ideas. Which is wonderful; I’m a huge fan of what we can do with GPS satellites and social media. But notice the list doesn’t include people and teamwork.
I can hear the chorus, “But we went into this technical field to avoid people.” Yep, many do. However, if you want to excel at and enjoy leadership as an engineer, technologist, or scientist, consider making a shift. Think of people and teamwork as just another set of skills to learn. You have already clearly demonstrated your ability to learn. Time to change up the course work.
People Focus
“No matter how intellectually intelligent someone is, their success is still governed by how well they communicate their ideas and interact with their peers.” Multi-Health Systems EQ-I 2.0
Emotional and social skills are a significant portion of career success according to an enormous volume of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) research. Helps to be IQ smart, really helps to be EQ smart. When you increase your own emotional awareness and your awareness of others, your people and teamwork skills improve. No need to be born with them, no need to prefer extroversion. These skills can be learned, just like computer languages and with less pain than the typical master’s thesis. It may take more effort than Googling EQ, however.
One Proven Way to Increase Your EQ
Want to get started right away? Here’s a self-awareness exercise you can do starting tomorrow to raise your EQ. Keep a log of your emotions as you go through your day: Angry, Happy, Afraid, Anxious, Embarrassed, or Sad. Try to notice your emotions as they occur, no need to judge them or dwell on them. Since your body communicates your emotional state to you faster than your brain can clue you in via your thoughts, keep an eye on your body’s reactions. Stomach in a knot? Big smile? Eyes down in avoidance? Increased heart rate? Shallow breathing? It is harder than it seems as only one in three of us identify our emotions accurately 1. Learn to recognize your emotions as they happen so you can understand their cause and impact on yourself and others.
About Your New Focus on Products and People
Now that you are enthusiastic about raising your EQ to support your growth, it can help to gain a scientifically informed baseline understanding of your own EQ skill set level relative to your peer group. Consider taking the MHS EQ-i 2.0 assessment 2. From there we can build a custom coaching plan to focus your efforts on improving specific key skills, raising your overall EQ level, and improving your chances of professional success. Pick products and people.
1 Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, TalentSmart.
2 Multi Health Systems EQ-i 2.0: Measures Emotional Intelligence around self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal, decision making, and stress management with a robust 133 item assessment.
