Align, Communicate and Grow

As the evaluation cycle at NYP comes to a close, I thought I would share a few tips on how employees can improve their communication with leaders and help set expectations that will align them with the organization and the direction they want to grow. These tips are based on my 25 + years of experience in the Healthcare IT field and are targeted for individual contributors.

Ask your reporting manager what they want to be communicated on and how. As a general rule, you never want your leader to receive an escalation that they are entirely unaware of. Therefore, if there is a chance that something could be escalated, they should be notified.

Understand what decisions you can make, and which your leader may want to be informed of or make themselves. This can lead to degrees of autonomy and should never be taken lightly. If you are given the green light to make decisions ask what is the 360 degree impact of the decision, i.e. both from a stakeholder and technical stream standpoint. If you have any doubts, reach out to your leader for confirmation.

If you do not have a recurring one on one scheduled with your reporting manager, work to schedule one. Before your meeting, provide the agenda and list your talking points. Include items like:

• Project Milestone Updates (This keeps them informed of your work).
• Communicate Obstacles/Challenges (This creates an opportunity to learn).
• Ask for Feedback (This creates an opportunity to grow).
• Follow up by providing minutes from your one on one, complete with action items.

Don't be afraid to ask your manager where you would fall into the evaluation scale. The conversation can help avoid any misassumptions you may have, and if you identify an opportunity for growth, it will empower you to get back on track. This can be an awkward conversation, but don't shy away from it. Knowing where you stand is essential and will always set you up for success.

Define your goals for the year, share them with your leader, and ask for feedback. Ideally, this should be a bi-directional conversation with your manager. This process helps you understand how you align with the organization and can potentially improve your overall engagement. Understanding your value to a project not only enhances an organization's outcomes but helps keep your fulfillment cup filled.

Completing a project in time and under budget is often an obvious way to measure successful goals. However, I would also suggest other measurable goals that can help an employee understand their concrete value to an organization or project, maybe using a statistical focused approach to goals, e.g. for individual contributors incident resolution time, or improving customer satisfaction (assuming that you survey your clients). Never underestimate the impact that some of these goals would have on your team, or the organization and use these as examples of your work when updating your resume. (Future article will cover this in depth complete with examples)

Make room for your professional development. If you are on a technical track, maybe you want to go after a certification. If you are on the manager track, perhaps you want to take a course on public speaking. Whatever the situation is, take the time to aspire to continuously learn something, and be sure to share with your leader when you have obtained new skills or perspectives. This will be helpful to them when assigning work.

My last piece of advice is to take the time to reflect on your path and measure your growth. Make the time to take inventory of your newly learned or improved skills and once you go through this exercise, there is no better time to update your resume. If you follow the advice and stay true to the intent you should feel really good about your work, growth and be able to illuminate your next goals and aspirations.

In closing I want to thank you for taking the time the article. I trust in some shape or form you were introduced to an idea that will inspire you to take a more hands on approach to your professional development. Feeling aligned, and knowing that you add value to your organization is a great way to feel fulfilled and motivated to continue doing great things. If you have any ideas that can be added or if anything resonates with you please comment below. 

Written by Danny Diaz in collaboration with Purvik Shah