Information Security & Technology

It’s hard to quantify technologists as a division or a group because they’re a partner to every function within a company. And because of that, they’re also a partner in communicating direction and progression on most initiatives within a company.

They have two distinctly different approaches to communication. First, there’s how they communicate within their teams to talk through development and step by step applications. That’s the details. And second, there’s how they communicate outside their teams to align their work to other department goals and strategies. That’s the big picture.

The challenge for technologists is when they don’t fully understand who values the details and who values the big picture. As technologists, they seek knowledge and details when they work within the team. It takes precision and clarity to get the work right. But as communicators representing the technology team to other groups, they have to shift from deep knowledge to general understanding to help business leaders make decisions.

Content: Shifting from engineering knowledge to a leader’s understanding is one of the most critical skills we teach. We call it “How to Help Tech Talk Exec,” and it’s outlined as a case study here. The bottom-line is this: leaders seek enough understanding to trust the technical steps. It’s less about how technology works and more about the enablement that comes from it. For the technologist, it means learning to simplify many steps into a few concepts and one big picture that focuses more on results of enablement rather than mechanics.

Style: When technologists communicate, they have to get out of their head and focused on the listeners in a room. Information doesn’t become communication until there is a connection between the person listening and the person speaking. We help technologists understand the power of influence by developing the skills of engagement. When engagement leads a conversation, it strengthens a communicator’s confidence and credibility with any group.

Situational: Technical teams leverage our methodology to strengthen their impact with audiences across an organization. From developing a storyline for a specific project to tailoring a template for an on-going conversation, we have helped hundreds of technology teams improve their communication results. It’s the difference in the details and the big picture. And we’ve packaged it as “How to Help Tech Talk Exec.”

For teams, these three steps are the start of a Tailored Program.

For individuals, a combination of Open Programs helps you build your own toolkit.