“Hey, do you have a minute?” If you work in IT, you’ve probably heard those words more times than you can count. That’s why it’s so important to learn techniques for managing interruptions at work. Maybe you’re troubleshooting a network problem, writing code, or working on a complicated configuration when someone interrupts with a question

The ticket comes in from that end-user. You know the one. Before you even open it, you can feel yourself getting irritated. Your shoulders tighten. You mutter, “What now?” Then you read the ticket and discover they’ve done exactly what you told them not to do. What happens next may have less to do with

One of the most dangerous emotions in IT is the one you don’t realize you’re feeling. You’re frustrated with an end-user, irritated with a coworker, or stressed about something completely unrelated to work. You may not recognize what you’re feeling, but it still affects your tone of voice, your choice of words, and the way

Rick was a network engineer at a large county government’s IT department. He was highly competent with the technology he worked with. He even held a Cisco CCNP certification. He also prided himself on his customer service skills, but he raised an interesting question during an in-person training session. The topic was what was reasonable

I’m a people-pleaser. Always have been. I’m not, however, always successful at pleasing people, but I really want to! I love saying “yes” to customers, my spouse, my children (that was a problem when they were teenagers), teachers, end-users, you name it. If they asked, I wanted to say “yes.” The problem is that sometimes

IT Customer Service Skills (or the Lack Thereof) I was walking down the hallway with Lou, the chief engineer. We were discussing the need for a patch panel. The one from the professional supply house was about $300. The one from the musician’s store was less than half that. Out of curiosity, I asked, “Why

If only they had spoken up… In 2017, Equifax was hacked, exposing sensitive personal and financial information for nearly 148,000,000 Americans, plus large numbers of people in the UK and Canada. A series of breakdowns made the hack possible, but the core problem was that people didn’t speak up when they saw an issue. You

My friend is a best-selling business book author. She and I toured the manufacturing plant because we’d heard what a great place it was to work and how successful it had been. Our guide was a junior executive we’ll call Jerry. Jerry showed a serious streak of arrogance as he walked us around the plant.

Understanding the Nature of Difficult Conversations in IT Have you ever dreaded an upcoming conversation? A difficult conversation in IT is likely to be high-stakes and could see emotions run rampant. It could be a conversation between two people with conflicting views. It could also be a setting for delivery of unwelcome news. Maybe you

There’s an old saying, “If you want a job done right, do it yourself.” That saying belongs in the Museum of Bad Advice, especially for leaders. In fact, it’s a sign of a bad leader. Good leadership is educating, motivating, and empowering teams to accomplish shared goals. Leadership is building trust. Leadership is lifting others