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People of Now features narratives from people who are influencing the ServiceNow ecosystem worldwide and the Volteo Digital community. They share their unique insights on various topics, providing valuable advice to help you advance your career.
In this Q&A, Anali Godoy, Senior Engagement Manager and Business Process Consultant at Volteo Digital, offers insights into the skills, processes, and strategies she leverages to accomplish her goals and overcome obstacles.
Which soft skills do you believe are crucial when interacting with individuals of varying profiles, ages, and professional backgrounds?
"I would probably list three of them:
- Positive attitude:
When managing a project, you become the leader and the main point of contact for the project team; for them, it is important to have someone who can inspire others to accomplish things. If you show a positive attitude, you also enable channels for open communication with everyone. Most of the time, you can make quick, positive changes when things do not go as planned.
- Embrace the value of teamwork: it is very important to understand the workload and the situation every member is going through in order to know how to respond to the project's needs. Here is my experience: I have learned that you must open a channel where you can be aware of where you can help, how you can help, and listen to all team members.
This will create an environment where everyone will feel supported and important for who they are and what they do.
- Work ethic: As Project Managers, our behavior should be aligned with our beliefs and the attitudes, behaviors, and responses we are expecting from our Project Team. We work with a lot of young people, for some of them, this is their first job, so by having and showing a high level of passion of the things that you do, you foster a productive working culture that can make a difference on the work dynamics and outcomes. "
In what ways have the skills acquired during your time at Volteo assisted you in your daily routine?
"I would emphasize the hard skills on the project management side, like knowing about AGILE a little bit deeper and getting the certification going, which has helped me to understand the process better and take on my day-to-day tasks more efficiently. I am also able to think about solutions for different types of problems more quickly, thanks to the knowledge acquired at Volteo.
On a personal level, I have learned a lot about how to communicate better with different stakeholders and how to be an active listener. All of these skills have been invaluable in my day-to-day life, both professionally and personally. Additionally, I have learned the importance of team work, which has been key for me when working on projects with diverse teams. The ability to understand each other's strengths."
As the Senior Engagement Manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that technical consultants are meeting customers' expectations. What skills and abilities should technical consultants possess in order for them to do so effectively?
"I consider time management key for consultants because our technical team sometimes work on multiple projects simultaneously, and it becomes challenging for them to deliver and finish some tasks on time.
Another skill is the ability to collaborate and, as I mentioned before: embrace the value of teamwork. It is significant when consultants share their thoughts and think outside the box, as they listen and help others even though it is not their primary "responsibility"; having a state of mind where you can support and add shared value.
Additionally, responsibility is crucial as consultants must ensure that their actions are meaningful and accountable for what they are doing; proactivity merges with responsibility as the processes, decisions, and results of the project would require critical thinking towards unexpected situations."
How do you balance customer demands with the technical team's capabilities and availability regarding any implementation?
"To start, I become aware of my job duties and how to properly execute them.
As a key member of the technical team and customer relations, it is my responsibility to help customers comprehend their desired outcomes and why they are important. Then, I visualize and coordinate the time balance each demand requires and the technical knowledge needed for each task.
Subsequently, I establish a communication channel with the customer where I am very clear in determining their implementation specifications, such as how their outputs related to the future outcomes to be achieved, what the level of effort from the entire project would be, and our expert characteristics."
Do you have any personal values that guide your management style and interactions with customers?
"Yes, I do. I try to have integrity with everything I do; even when no one is watching, I try to do the best that I can.
Also, I try to be more aware of the situation of the people we are working with, as it has led me to a more empathetic way of looking at things.
And there is something special that I always take into consideration; something my dad shared with me some time ago, which is the value of "seeing the glass half full" and it has helped me in life to embrace the positive part of some moments that don't seem so good."
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