Appendix B
Meeting Transcript
Questions
Tell me what your thoughts of how this team communications to the rest of IT and Campus:
BV: Currently or Goal?
Leadership layer of communication between teams that goes downward. I think in most cases is pretty effective. Receipt of that is where I think there might not be as effective. Then there’s a level of communication between the troops and how that travels up. The leadership in each area are aware of what the troops are doing, and that varies between areas. My biased opinion is that in this unit our communication is very open.
MB: do you all agree?
BB: For the audio, there’s a lot of head nodding going on.
MB: How do you all feel how Bryan communicates important things to the team?
BB: I think he’s very accessible in various avenues, email, face to face, or privately. He is really transparent and accessible which I think sets him apart from other leaders. I don’t think you can pigeon him into one specific way, he’s very accessible on all fronts, how ever you want to interact with him, he makes himself accessible.
WB: Openly transparent, whether email or face to face. He’ll let us know what coming down the pipe.
BV: I have an internal communication philosophy where unless I can’t share it, I will, and if I can’t I’ll say I can’t. Especially if it has any impact on my team. I don’t want them to be blindsided. My biggest fear is not knowing when something comes up and being blindsided. And I think that fear exists cross wise everyone. I think they don’t what to not know and then have to react, and so I take that the same way I want it, so I try to communication the same way effectively. I’m definitely not perfect, but I appreciate the kind words. The other piece is if I can’t share, I make that very aperient. If I can’t, I’ll say I can’t, I don’t try to avoid it. I think it’s important to be transparent on what you can’t share as much as what you can share, so there is nothing hidden.
BB: and with that, he’s entrusted at a leadership level with that ability to keep something in confidence. And we respect that.
MB: what’s your idea of how the systems team is viewed my the rest of IT?
BV: That’s a great question… I know from a leadership perspective how it’s perceived.. That it’s very hard to come across someone in this team that isn’t fairly aware of things that are going on within this team. The perception is that within this group, communication is very good, that there’s comradely, and a team atmosphere. That’s from the leadership side of it. From a troops side, I don’t know and I’d have to ask the team about that.
TW: I have a very hilarious comic book example of us being the hero’s of IT. But in honesty, I think that we are a buffering line of defense. We are here to handle the escalated incidents, if something has gone really wrong, that’s when it matriculates down to us to handle. We’re the more nittie gritty, where as the TSC is front facing and other teams have there piece as well. We are the last line of defense.
BB: In dwelling on that question, what is our perspective of how others view us, I’m not even conscious of that, I just wonder if I’m getting the job done and I’m I effective in that.
BV: when we do communicate, are we being considerate of others which I think we are trying to be. How that’s perceived by others, I truly don’t know. It’s actually a great question that has me wondering now. Do we exude the same image that we have internally, and I just don’t know.
TW: My opinion is based on the tickets we receive, not from actual commentary. These are the steps we’ve taken, now I need your help.
BB: I think there’s a lot of different opinions, I think there are those who are jealous of how transparent we are around here. Some might be threatened by how good we work together that we could take over other areas or do other things as well. I think you would get mixed reviews, not necessary negative in general, I wish I could be on that team because its more transparent, and others who would say wow they work so good together, they make want to take over this other thing too. We could be viewed in a lot of different ways, just depends on who you talk to.
BB: Those system guys are doing so good, they better knock it off, they’re making us look bad.
WB: Exactly.
BV: You’re on the outside… how do you view it…
MB: I see what Billy means, I’ve worked in this group too though, and that’s why I wanted to do this interview.
BV: I’ll add this, from my perspective, I try really hard when I communicate, to put the ball in the person who has ownership so they have ownership and not take that away from them. There may be objectives and a larger picture involved, but I don’t what to make the decisions unless its absolutely necessary, I don’t want to make decisions for other people. I want to communicate in a way that empower the person to make the decisions on their own and come to their own conclusions and explore some of their own skill in their area, and advise… I don’t know everything and I don’t want to know every thing… Advise me as to what the best solutions is. I think that establishes a greater form of trust in the relationship, and I think trust is key in commutations. Trusting that these guys know what the heck they are doing, and their going to communicate back to me likewise, which is a key piece in communicating transparently.
MB: Would the rest of you say that when it comes to projects and tasks, that you have the freedom to just go with it, or do you ask Bryan how he wants it done, or do you collaborate from a mentor side… how do you do it?
BB: Various approaches depending our personalities and the project.
WB: I’d say that a lot of our projects are free range, we got the parameters, here’s what we need done, make it happen. Until it comes to the point where I hit a roadblock, and I have to ask, the I do.
BV: There’s targets and objectives, some clear boundaries that are established early on, but inside of that, some of the funnest work, is to explore it the way your mind works.
TW: a lot of our deadlines on projects aren’t imposed because of the team, its’ because there are university requirements, if a project is an ongoing project, I don’t feel that I have to get it done because Bryan tells me to, I get it done because there’s a semester deadline or there’s the next implantation phase.
BV: Or your just excited about it and want to see it function.
TW: Ya, right. There’s never any governance on those problems, outside of the school expectations.
KW: Saying that, I think that a lot of our projects do have the deadlines, but there are also, the greater good of the end project. But in the greater scheme of things, it’s for the greater good of the overall quality, and user experience.
MB: Would you say that one of the driving factors of the group is producing quality products?
KW: absolutely
WB: I would say another great part about this team, is there are no hard lines of where my work crosses over, if Danilo is doing SQL database work, that’s really not in my job description, but I’m excited to help him. Even going over to the video conference side, I see them building something, I’ll come over and say, “Hey guys I got an idea, what about trying this out?” It may work, it may not, but just the fact that I can blur the lines and be helpful in more than one area, even though I have a set area that I need to be in, it really doesn’t matter, as long as everything else is falling in line where it needs to be.
BB: Billy stole my thought… part of the quote and quote success of this team, is our willingness to help each other out, on the fly. It may be a Travis project, but if he needs something, I’m willing to set what ever I’m working on aside and help him out. If the VC guys run into something, Cool, lets address it now. We not only have Bryan accessible to us, and being transparent to us, but we are also accessible to each other.
MB: Being accessible to each, does that help in the feeling of being one whole team, not just individually doing your own job?
BB: Yes.
BV: I think it also encourages a little more exploration and risk, because you have a team you can rely on to help you. Projects don’t seem too daunting, because you have a collective mind that can help on that project. You know they’re not going to ham string you for their own benefit, they wont’ leave you hanging.
BB: how many times have you guys walked past my door, and I was like “HEY! Let me bounce something off you, I have something clunking around and I think you might have a good perspective on this.” It’s very helpful.
WB: I think too the location that we are all in, being in the same general area benefits us too. Working with other teams that we should be work closer too can be a daunting task. Sometimes being able to walk over to the door, and say, hey I see you’re busy, but can I bounce something off of you? Instead of sending an email, which doesn’t always get a response.
BB: It’s hard to put Kenny in a head lock if you can’t find him.
MB: what do you find is the most effective way of communicating in the team.
TW: When I’m in proximity ot them I’m going to walk over to their desk and have that conversation with them.
MB: Do you do that because it’s easier, or you know its acceptable?
TW: Probably both… I can speak faster than I can type.
BV: I’ll add to that, I think there’s multiple levels of commination. I think when you are trying to convey a thought, or pound out an opinion, dialogue and commination are the most effective to flush out a thought. However if I need to convey special details and thoughts, an email is hands down the best form of communication, because you can remember those details in an email far better than you can in a side conversation. I think it’s dependent on the type of conversation it is.
WB: I would say too, that if we all had offices, it would be an open door policy around here.
BV: We are open to help and want to be involved.
MB: do you think that the office space you have, enhances that ability since your in a hub.
BV: Absolutely
WB: I think that if we were in a more open area, it would produce even more communication. I think if we were over in Nursing, it would create even more segregation. I think if you put us all in an open room and divvied up the space, I think you’d get even more production. People hear things and interject more freely. It create that openness, if you are sitting down the hall. You wouldn’t know that they have an idea about that thing you are working on.
BV: That’s the down side of where we are at, we are packed in about as much as we can before it becomes uncomfortable.
WB: there are times I wish I had a door, for when I need to concentrate. I get distracted with shiny objects, and there are times when I’ll put in my headphones, so I can drown out distractions and focus.
BB: That’s a great visual cue for us as well, when I come walking in and walking by, that tells me you’re in a deep dive, and unless it’s important, I’ll leave you alone.
MB: So what things would you guys like to see changes in terms of communication?
BB: It’s perfect Matthew, how can you improve on perfection.
WB: I would say that internally in our own area, we are pretty good. Externally there are a lot of things that could be improved.
MB: in the incoming our outgoing, external?
WB: probably both, I think we could do a better job of communicating, but I think we try to very well. It doesn’t mean that it’s received that way at the other end. Coming in here, sometimes you’re flying blind, not knowing that something is going on. That prevents’ us from doing our job as good as we could.
MB: So what would that look like to have better communication coming into this team?
WB: having better communication, maybe being in the same general area would help. Road blocks and being on the other side of campus can hurt communication.
BV: I wonder if it’s at a peer/collogue level or at a leadership level that that can be improved.
WB: It takes everyone’s’ effort to make it all work. Our effort here helps that we are all on the same page, which really helps.
TW: I find that when I’m communicating your, that receipt of my communication helps, and feedback helps.
WB: I would say that my biggest complaint from external communication is not getting a response at all. I know that for me, if I get an email from someone, I at lease acknowledge it, even if I’m not going to get to it right away.
BB: That’s another feather in our cap, when communicating off site, we acknowledge each others communication’s. Maybe that makes us spoiled by how we all communicate with each other.
BV: I would say that we all reply quickly, I know that at the longest, it may be a day before we reply, but often it’s much faster. Outside, it may go months, or not even be responded to, it depends on how harshly it is written. Or how focused it is, or who’s name you had to drop in the email, to get their attention. I do think, there are some things we can do, and the resources to deliver some of those solutions, long tern to help with those cross functional communication.
MB: in looking at other ways to communicate, do you think Yammer is a good way to communicate?
BV: I think it can be, we were just discussing creating a Spokane Yammer site, to go bigger, why not make a Spokane IT yammer site, and when we roll out SharePoint for IT, why not incorporate that into it as well, so you can just live in the SharePoint environment. It’s professional yet causal. There’s no secret sauce, and I don’t have to track anyone down.
WB: I have some mixed feelings about the yammer site, I think there will be some mixed use around it until we can make it a part of our unified communications piece.
BB: The word yammer seems to invite chitter and chatter and inane talk. It may not start that way, but its’ fun, and it’s lite and the next thing, you know you won’t really care about it.
BV: My hope is that, if I have a question, I can do a search and find people who have experience in that area… and they be able to send messages and bounce off ideas to all those in WSU who have experience and knowledge about it. Whether people use it for that, we won’t know yet. The idea and hope within IT is that it will be institutionally implemented. I think a tool like that can have an impact in breaking down the silos of an institution. And have more effective communication.
BB: I like the idea of WSU Spokane using Yammer, I think that if its institutionalized, it may be too big to buy in.
BV: The beauty is we can create out own groups and teams and make it into what ever we want it to be.
MB: What do you think contributes to your individual job satisfaction or dissatisfaction?
WB: My satisfactions is that fact that I’m not micromanaged daily, I can keep myself in check. The multiple projects that I have, so when I hit a roadblock, I can switch to a different project is nice. I don’t really ever have down time unless I chose to. The face that a lot of our stuff is soft deadlines is great. We don’t have hard deadlines hanging on our shoulders, where if we don’t meet them, there will be repercussions. There’s no pressure to stay here all night, because we have to get this done. Its not a job were you’re doing the same thing every day. I don’t really think I have dissatisfaction, except when it comes to communicating with other groups and getting responses from them.
BB: Rainbows and unicorns, I a fair tail of loveliness every time I walk in here.
DN: I would agree with Billy, when Daren gives us a project, it’s totally ours, and I appreciate that, I know he has the confidence in us to get it done.
MB: Does the confidence in you lead to self motivation?
DN: Oh absolutely.
BV: part of what drive me every day is I don’t what to let my team down, and I don’t want to let my boss down, and I know he’s the same way with me as I try to be with my group. Giving me the latitude to not just succeed, but to screw up too and not micromanage me either. And I find great satisfaction and power behind that to succeed, and I don’t want to let him succeed, so I work really hard to make that happen. I think spreading that out to everyone hopefully gives the same value to everyone else too.
BB: It feeds it.
WB: Bryan actively says 60/40 projects and research. So if I’m going down the line and get sidetracked, he’ll let me go explore it and see if there’s any benefits. There’s no get back on track, you never know what will become useful.
KW: I’ve been satisfied by the variability of work stuff. In my past jobs, you start at A and end at Z. Here I don’t know what the day may hold. We may have a project that we know about, but who’s to say something else may come up. There are times when my supervisor will say hey lets dig into something, neither of us know about. That creates great satisfaction, discovering new things and solutions.
BB: Every day is different and a new challenge. You come in with a athletic mental stance, because you never know what’s going to come up, What curve balls will be thrown your way. I find that very appealing. It keeps the challenge level up, and I think that’s a common thread with all of us, we like being challenged.
MB: you guys have what I would say is a very fun culture, what do you think has caused that or helped develop that.
BB: we are who we are, we know what type of people we like to interact with, and we bring those types of people into the fold.
BV: there’s the idea and promotion where unless there’s a need to be purely professional, sarcasm and fun in the workplace helps combat stress in the workplace, and helps refresh you brain so you can focus. If it’s too regimented, it’s hard to wall off your personality. That’s part of why we mix so, well, we feed of each others personalities, and humor. We often tease each other on certain things, and that helps to build true trust. We all have a good sense of when it’s appropriate and when it’s not, except for me.
WB: Team work and low barriers, I know if I go to anyone here, I won’t be run over for doing something wrong. They won’t stab me in the back, I don’t have to put up those walls to protect myself. We are in unison with each other.
BB: we’re pretty fortunate that it’s organic, we don’t really have to work on it. It just comes naturally. That’s just the way we’re wired, and hopefully as the team grows and expands, we’ll have a say in making sure it stays that way.
MB: in bringing on another teammate, what are your absolutes that that person must have.
BV: last time, what I was looking for was someone who would gel with them and not put them off. There’s a certain level of assertiveness, and caution that I’m looking for. Finding that balance is key. Also, a certain level of self confidence, but not over. There’ is a very fine line of personality, that we are trying to find. There’s a level of lightheartedness that we’re looking for. We interviewed a person who had skills to the moon, and knew it, and I knew that they would put off the rest of the team, and I wasn’t will to have that. We aren’t that mindset. We all believe that we are talented to a certain point, but we don’t know everything, and we rely on each other to be able to find the right answers. To have someone who thinks they have all the answers isn’t going to work.
BB: Professionalism, eagerness, but not taking yourself to seriously means a lot.
BV: Passion about your craft and technology is important. If it’s not broke, starting looking for the next best thing to replace it.
MB: If you were to envision this team in 5 years, would you be here, would you be doing the same thing, and how would it have evolved and grown.
BV: Yes I’ll be here, will I still be doing the same think, likely not, I would say the same for my team, they will all be here, but not doing the same thing. The passion they have, their rolls will grown and there will be more people here. I see a team with division, not physical, but in responsibilities. Now there is a very heavy blur, to a benefit, but that blur is more than it should be, because we don’t have enough people. I see having several teams that specialize in their craft, specialty divisions in that team, and leadership in each team whether that is a supervisor or manager of those teams. I see having that type of structure in the teams, and I see myself at a higher level, leading those teams, at least that what I want to do as of right now.
BB: Current situation, but on steroids. The recent hires reflect that.
BV: I see this all happening within two years with all the growth that’s going on.
DN: In 5 years, I hope to be retired and playing golf in Arizona.
WB: yes I see my self here, but not in the same position, I hope to grow in the organization and team.
MB: how would you rate how you and how Pullman communicates to you?
WB: in regards to Pullman, it’s all going to Pullman and nothing coming back.
BV: Pullman is all about established relationships, if you have a relationship, they will communicate with you. If you don’t have relationship, you have to get in line with everyone else. It’s about the personal relationship, not professional curtest, but it should be the opposite, that’s a culture thing in Pullman though. I hope we don’t do that here.
KW: Dave and I work with the TSC, and make effort to show up on your doorstops and communicate verbally to see how things turn out. I wonder if the TSC sees our efforts.