New Job ? Use Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) Tools to Boost your IT career

How does your usual day look like as an IT PRO ?

Probably you already take several phone calls on the way to the office. As you bounce out of the traffic jams into the office you already have several hot items to take care of. And yeh, that's after a long night browsing through too many mails, vendor announcements and open issues. As you browse through yet new mails and voice mails, you get the first hot support calls and technical challenges banging your computer screen. Then people start to call and arrive - carrying with them a trouble you have to solve or in better cases, a technical new challenge.

So how can you become a success story and avoid energy drain-out?

One of the most powerful tools you should have is E.I. That is Emotional Intelligence. I am not going to get through the regular definition of Emotional Intelligence - there are lots of books on that area already. But the implementation of Emotional Intelligence for the IT PRO has special application and when exercised correctly can rip our huge benefits for you and the people around you.

Why does Emotional Intelligence usage for you - the IT PRO different from other areas?

It's because only few jobs have similar intensity in the areas of knowledge, crisis conditions, many affected customers, quick problem spreading. If you are not sure what I am talking about, and then recall what happened when you have the last Virus Breakout, disaster recovery testing and even supporting a new marketing project. You have to deal with so many things that might break or broke already. And that's where you can easily get disconnected from your emotional intelligence.

So what is the symptom of drained Emotional Intelligence ?

Very simply: You get by the technical challenges (barely) and you are lagging behind on the race to success.

So how can you both have success in your technical challenges and yet make it to the next new job position?

Well I have been through all this and had the chance to learn a lot from the best IT Managers. I would like now to contribute back.

We are going to walk together through the real-life cases that happen in IT PRO work day. We are going to get through this as big winners. We'll be using my 25 years and more of experience empowering IT Professionals and I trust your own experience. I trust your commitment to have better life quality at work yet provide the best service to your company.

OK, so lets get going !

Scenario #1 - The perfectional IT PRO meets Godzilla

Management meeting is over and you have a new challenge: setup new mail system on time. You as an IT PRO know exactly how this should be done. You know what can happen when you do not follow the installation guide... You barely have the time to complete the mission so you quickly start. Then something else happens and you loose some time. But you still go back to your task and continue exactly from where you paused.

You got to do it by the book - right? Otherwise you'd be unprofessional... So to make it on time, you stay long hours into the night and finally you may finish on time. But you have less energy for the next day, and you are probably got a lag on other tasks as well.

But you cannot see any other way out - right?

Here is my Emotional Intelligence Tip:

Acknowledge your need for perfection. Allow the possibility that "good enough communicated on time" is better than "perfect yet missing deadline". Management looks at every thing from risk management prospective. No one expect thing to be perfect. You as an IT PRO know how much things can get wrong when you do not do things by the book. But, you must develop tools, abilities and plans to allow you cut through the "procedure" paying some price, and making it on time. Use your knowledge to find the alternate way instead of hiding behind the "we have to do it technically right" excuse.

Better provide good enough on time than perfectly completing one task while leaving less energy and time for the following ones.

Scenario #2 - Why do I have to verify this, I can's see how it could go wrong!

Now you've got a hot potato on yours hands. You must complete this data migration to the new server before the weekend! You have already done it so many times. It's disk to disk copy...no hassle. Then your manager wants to review your script, just in case. And he asks why are you not verifying the disk to disk migration completes OK and to have a log of the whole process. You don't understand...its disk to disk copy!

What could go wrong? You have done it so many times...And why log the whole process? In any case the main task is the disk copy!?

Here is my Emotional Intelligence Tip:

Acknowledge you are trying to avoid this verification while it's needed. Log and Check everything you can. Firstly, you can never know what will happen. If you log everything you can check it. If you lack the log, you may loose your only chance to learn what happened. Secondly assume that anything that can fail, will fail. So you better check it and log it.

Scenario #3 - Why is he bothering me? I know he's wrong anyway !

You've had a long day by now and he's approaching you. Yep, that guy who wants to talk 1 minute while it always takes at least 15. Now he's complaining again about this network failure. You already know he got it wrong. He does not know anything about databases, network or systems. And you know its going to be another waste of time, explaining to him why what's he assuming is not right. Quickly enough you are getting frustrated and very soon both you and him are on the verge of shouting at each other. Then there are lots of mails back and forth and your energy is drained once again.

Here is my Emotional Intelligence Tip:

When you have this situation, try this Emotional intelligence drill:

Stop. Say to yourself:

* he/she is experiencing a real frustration and need.

* He/She is trying to find the reason for the problem.

* Its more important that I will be empathic than technically right.

As you are understanding and empathic to the need and want of your user, they will get the most important thing they were looking for. They will know you understand them and care about them. They will be more open to wait for you or trust your analysis. You will have more energy and time and support to work on your technical resolution.

That's all for now! Hope to see you again soon as we review more good stuff to support your success !

You can read more at http://www.it-elligence.com

Yours,

Jack.

Hey IT PRO fellow !

Here is how you can assist me on contributing more:

1) Simply create your account on www.hubpages.com (2 min.)

2) Do Join my Fan Club !

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5) Share your advise as well and wait for more goodies from me :-)

6) Take a look at the Amazon resources - I have put them for a reason. I have used each one of them and highly recommend them. Please do recommend your favorites as well !

7 ) Please share this hub with your IT fellows.

Yours,

Jack.