If the Leopard Could Talk
William was a brilliant computer scientist. He was one of the original developers who had created our company’s platform from scratch. But, he was a bit odd.
He liked to be referred to as The Leopard. He had a leopard skin rug and a poster of the animal on his wall. The blinds in his office were always shut and the lights were turned off. When you looked in, all you could see was the glow from his computer screen, which highlighted his intense stare and long golden hair.
As a product manager, I frequently had to interact with the developers, but I was very intimidated by William. I still vividly remember the first time I had a question for him. I gathered my courage and walked over to his office. The door was open, but I stopped at the door frame. He was in the middle of something, so I waited patiently for him to finish. After a few minutes, I still hadn’t gotten any kind of response, not even a head turn. I didn’t know if he knew I was there. So, I knocked on the open door and he finally turned his head. I started with a short informal introduction and asked for some time to go over a few questions. Before I could even finish my sentence, he turned his head back to the computer screen and said, “I prefer email. Email me your questions.” He went back to work. I stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. I had never met anyone who didn’t engage in common small talk like, “Hello, nice to meet you,” even if they didn’t really want to talk. As I headed back to my desk, I ran into Bruce. He must have overheard my conversation (or lack thereof) with William. Bruce was a development manager, and William’s total opposite. Bruce preferred open, lit workspaces and rode his foldable bike to and from work. He offered to sit down with me and go over my questions. We did and he was great at explaining all of the technical details with stories, layman terms and hand drawn pictures. When we were done, it was all totally clear in my mind. Over time, I had other questions for William and I followed his request—I only emailed him. But, most of the time he didn’t responded to my emails, unless something was wrong. In those cases, I never quite understood his answers because they were filled with technical jargon. Instead, I would go speak with Bruce and he would help me understand. William, a.k.a. The Leopard, was a bit extreme, but what would have happened to our relationship and work outcomes if Bruce hadn’t been around? In computer science and engineering roles, a higher value is placed on technical skills, but communication is equally important. Being able to communicate ideas to people that are not as technically minded is important for long-term success. Have you had an experience where someone you worked with was too caught up in the jargon to explain things effectively or let others know about their successes? Or maybe, you don’t want to admit it, but you are that person! There you are using abbreviations and insider terms and you see people’s eyes glaze over. If you would like to know more about how to share your experiences at work and outside of work more effectively, sign up for Leadership Story Lab’s newsletter or contact us directly.
