Moving Your Vision into Reality
On day two of TechLeaders: Realizing Your Vision, hosted by Google in Manhattan, a panel of senior technologists shared their knowledge about breaking through barriers.
Linda Knippers, Distinguished Technologist at HP, articulated three key barriers she overcame:
1. The first barrier was understanding what it was in her job that made her happy — she was made a manager several times in her career but stepped away from the technology work she loved in the process. She talked about the difference between leadership and managing — you can be a technical leader and influence others, without being a manager of a group.
2. The next barrier was making sure she worked with her manager to articulate a path for her advancement.
3. The last barrier was navigating change, which happened through mergers and technological evolution. Knippers sought to learn in a changing environment.
Her key takeaways for participants were:
- you do not have to manage in order to lead
- articulate your goals to your manager and make sure there is a match between your goals and theirs
- it’s ok if not everyone likes what you do
- it’s ok to change jobs — make sure there are leadership transition plans in place — train your backup
- don’t be afraid to turn down an opportunity if the job is not right for you
Jen Fitzpatrick, Engineering Director at Google, provided tips on bringing a vision into reality. The key barriers that Fitzpatrick keeps an eye on in particular:
1 – make sure the vision is clearly articulated, crisp, and short. Visions are not realized alone, you need allies to help make them happen. If no clear picture of where you are trying to go to, people will go off in different directions.
2 – get buy in for your vision. Early on, figure out who your sounding boards will be to improve the vision before you go live with it – you will get valuable feedback and practice presenting your vision. Acknowledge the risks head on, but make sure you are presenting the path confidently.
3 – Articulate the path leading to your vision — find concrete measurable results you can show to demonstrate progress early on.
4 – Do not get distracted from your vision when priorities are changing around you — keep people engaged in bringing back the focus on your vision.
5 – Be explicit on what you need from other people to achieve your vision.
Linda Bernardi, CEO of StraTerra Inc., focused on mentoring and networking:
- Mentoring is the most significant thing you can do in your career. What is a mentor? Someone who is higher up, who has limited time, who will be giving you objective feedback and honesty on your weaknesses and what you need to learn. Mentors can change your path for the better. Be prepared when you meet with your mentor and make it interesting. Do not confuse mentoring with networking. Mentoring never ends – it is not a friend and it is not a coach – this person will help you see things that are holding you back.
- Deliberate networking — never network without a purpose. You will not realize your vision alone. Find who it is you want to network with and why. Be deliberate in expanding your reach so you are not just meeting with people you are comfortable with. Plan out the people who need to meet to get where you want to be. Networking is more than having a lot of contacts on LinkedIn and Facebook.