3 Tips to get the Best out of a Technical Mind during Change

Rebecca Livesey, Managing Director - Achieve Lead Succeed

Many of us have technical brains or work with those that do, be it accountants, lawyers, IT, or analysts, and in the ever-changing business world we need to be able to bring all our people along for the ride. When we consider technical minds, there are three main brain ‘programs’ to take into account.

Brain Tip 1 - My Work is my Identity

Good technical people are master craftsman. IT or accountancy isn’t often thought of like this, but the technical brain can spend hours crafting beautifully elegant solutions. With that comes an interesting brain quirk. Any challenge of the work attacks the core being of the person. Work and identity are very closely linked, and so challenge feels like lack of trust.

Here we help people to understand the difference between stimulus and response. Just like counting to ten when angry, this extends the moment between the two, so ‘Don’t you trust my work (i.e. Me!)?’ can be replaced with ‘Thank you for being so interested in my masterpiece!’

Brain Tip 2 - I’m a Mismatcher and Proud of It!

Technical people are often mismatchers which mean their brains scan for differences before seeing commonalities. It’s a very useful skill in a job that manages risks on a daily basis, but it can play havoc when brainstorming or developing something new.

Often just being aware of this helps. Then technical brains stop feeling like they are the only people who see all the risks and issues, and have to bring them up!

Brain Tip 3 - Give me Proof!

Technical peoples’ decision-making strategies often revolve around proof. The brain asks ‘Show me where this has worked/not worked before.’ Again, useful when diagnosing issues, but not when heading into the unknown and having to make calls based on non-existent data.

Another powerful decision-making strategy is a Criteria Based Strategy. Work out what the future criteria for success looks like, and make decisions to meet it. This can account for changes in context or environment, and results in more robust and timely decision making.

If you’d like to talk further about leading Business Transformation and Strategy contact Rebecca Livesey on bec@achieveleadsucceed.com or 0404 361 927