The Underlying Skill for an Onsite Lead

Raj Menon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:17:25 +0000

Of the 10 years of my experience in the software services industry, I have spent more than half of that time onsite interacting with customers. I am the onsite Lead – the face of the vendor, the contractor, the consulant. It’s a key role – a complex mix of delivery and client services.

You are a leader in your domain and you are embarking on your first or repeat onsite trip. Your proven communication skills, your success in your domain, your high “like-factor” with the customer during the many phone/email communication, and your team coordination abilities… these are the skills that undoubtedly makes you the ideal candidate to perform the very crucial role of the onsite Lead. You tell yourself, “I am ready!”.

I have been in an Onsite Lead/Manager role for nearly 8 years now, intially on rotational stints before becoming a permanent face for the customer. I have worked in the Middle East and the USA; with the Qataris, Palestenians, Jordanians, Germans, Brits, Koreans, Americans and ofcourse the NRIs. Cultural etiquettes to cuisines to movies – my understanding and most importantly my adaptability to these cultural differences became a key factor to help me build key relationships.

Do you understand your customers culture? Are your confident of changing your customer mindsets to accepting your own culture? Can you bridge that cultural gap? Now ask yourself “Am I ready?”.

To be successful at your onsite mission, you need to develop this underlying, yet not often talked about, skill that will prove to be critical. You need to be able to bridge the cultural gap between the onsite and the offshore teams because in our line of work, it is important to understand and respect cultures.

To build that bridge, a simple thought process might help:

At the beginning, you have “Your Way” of doing things and your customer has “Their Way” of doing things. As an oniste Lead, your job is to work your way towards forming a mutual understanding and acceptance of the two different ways of doing things. This takes time and this is where you will struggle but if you have the right attitude, focus and some patience, you will get through this stage. In the end, when “Your Way” and “Their Way” becomes “Our Way”, you know you have succeeded. Until then, keep trying.

My Perfect Symphony

Raj Menon — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:31:32 +0000

Manual: Competent Communicator
Project/Assignment: Speech #2 “Organize Your Speech”
Comments: This post is a modified version of the 2nd of the 10 speeches I am to give to become a Toastmasters certified “Competent Communicator”. The message I am trying to convey in this speech is very real to me. The modifications I have made are only to the extent of appealing to a larger audience.

Imagine going to the symphony. Imagine watching the orchestra and all those musicians with their drums and violins and flutes and all the instruments. Haven’t you been awed by talent and skills of all these musicians creating a perfect musical score in response to the “magical” gestures of the Conductor?

Now, imagine what it would be like if the conductor was 7000 miles away from his orchestra?

Today I will talk about a similar ensemble of developers, business analysts, testers and IT personnel working remotely who follow the directions of another kind of conductor – the Onsite Program Manager.

I was born in India, the land of cultures. At a very young age my family moved to the Middle East and most of my childhood memories are of growing up in the gulf. So, I could say that very early in my life I was exposed to different cultures and knew the importance of building relationships with friends and family far away.

In 1994, I returned to India for my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science & Engineering. In September of 2000, I got a job as a Web Developer and I have been with them ever since.

Today I am a Program Manager working at a customer facility. I manage multiple IT maintenance and development projects. I work with a team of around 35 skilled people, who are located 7000 miles away. They work while I sleep.

I’ve been a “conductor” of such an ensemble of software development teams for the past 6 years.

In music, the primary responsibility of a conductor is to first set the tempo, then give a clear direction, and finally to listen critically to shape the sound of the ensemble.

That’s exactly what I do as an Onsite Program Manager and let me tell you how.

#1 Set the Tempo

How do I set the tempo if I am miles away from my team? It’s tough. My role expects me to work with people who I can identify only by voice or words in an email, people who I may never actually meet. It is tough but possible.

Setting the tempo to me starts with getting to know my team, establishing effective communication protocols, and enabling them with the power of processes.

What are their names? What are their hobbies? What role do they play and what are their responsibilities? Who do they report to? Who is my point of contact? What are their expectations from me? How do we communicate and resolve issues? What systems and processes will help me check the health of the team and the project?

My point is that, if you are an Onsite Manager working with remote teams, you start by building a rapport with the team. Get them to know you and your role. Then work with them and implement customized processes, those that enable you and your team to function effectively. Put it all together and soon you are all set to create some good music.

#2 Give a Clear Direction

Whenever I interview a candidate for an Onsite Lead role, a common question I ask is “What challenges have you faced with your remote teams?” The almost immediate answer is Communication. The extended hours due to the time-zone differences, the frustration due to cultural differences leading to a difference in attitudes, and the difficulties in understanding the Indian-English accent are just some of their reasons why they feel this way.

These are issues and they are real. They are caused by what I call a “communication disconnect” between you and the far away team. That I think is the real challenge. I can attribute almost every issue or failure I’ve faced in such an engagement to a communication disconnect.

To give a clear direction to our team, we must remove this disconnect.

1. Communicate with your team often.
2. Think, talk and act as though we are a part of them. Do not consider the remote team as third party.
3. Be part of the resolution, not the problem.
4. Assume less, know more.
5. Acknowledge their achievements and pardon their mistakes.

The Onsite Manager must remove the barriers of time-zones and attitudes and cultures, to set the stage for success.

All this becomes easier if you have already set the tempo.

#3 Listen & Shape the Sound

An effective Onsite Manager needs to be good listener. We have to listen to what our team is saying, listen to their concerns and issues, understand them non-judgmentally and be able to remove the noise from the sound.

Listening also means, to be able to check the health of your project, remotely. This is where systems and processes play a major part to help you monitor your team’s productivity; review activity plans, set milestones and meet SLA’s.

Effective listening will help us shape the deliverables to the satisfaction of our customers.

We are not Maestros but don’t we all strive to be one someday? We have a team of talented musicians working for us. They wait for our direction to create a perfect symphony. Let’s try to be the conductors who are always trying to give the best performance ever. Let us keep our audience entertained and satisfied. And let’s get them to always ask for an encore.

Thank You all for listening.

The 13apples Blog» “are you ready to lead?”

The Underlying Skill for an Onsite Lead

My Perfect Symphony