What An IT Manager At An Industry Leader Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The IT Industry
Freida wishes someone had emphasized the critical role of interpersonal skills in IT management. While often perceived as a solely technical role "where we hide behind computers," Freida found that successfully implementing policy and driving change management requires strong connections with people, demonstrating how new policies will "make their lives easier" and building trust through genuine support, making people-facing skills 90% of the job.
Communication Skills, Change Management, Leadership, Policy Implementation, Privacy Standards
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Freida Kreitzer
IT Manager
Industry leader
UC Berkeley
Philosophy
Technology
Cyber Security and IT
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. The importance of people skills: While the role appears technical, connecting with people and showing them how you'll make their lives easier is crucial for success, especially in implementing policy and change management.
2. Technical skills are not enough: The role is not just about hiding behind computers or handling help desk tickets remotely. People-facing skills make up a significant portion (90%) of the job.
3. Understanding privacy standards: A key aspect involves adhering to customer expectations regarding privacy standards and the protection of personal identifiable information.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
Something that has made me highly successful in this role is being able to connect with people and have them know that I'm genuinely on their side, genuinely trying to make their lives easier. I've realized that although much of this role is very technical, which is what most people tell me and how they view it, is solely this kind of technical role where we hide behind computers or do help desk tickets remotely.
The way I've successfully implemented policy very quickly and done successful change management at companies is through sitting down with people, connecting with them, and telling them how I'm going to make their lives and their team's lives easier. Then I show them that I will do that.
It's not just me coming in with my opinions and security knowledge, which is a lot. Professionally, it's to adhere to what customers are holding these companies to in terms of privacy standards. So, personal identifiable information: how is that protected, and is it actually being protected? Doing that takes a lot of people-facing skills, and that ends up being 90% of this role.