How would you inspire innovation within a team that is technologically complacent?
The rate of change within technology development initiatives is high. However, teams sometimes avoid working with the latest tools and methodologies available. While some of the reasons to avoid change are valid, teams with a history of complacency can benefit from influential leaders with a history of driving change successfully. Interviewers who ask this question seek technical program managers with the skills and experience necessary to lead others through periods of innovation while providing the support and encouragement necessary for success.
Remember to describe a variety of approaches in your response. Successful, inspirational leaders understand that individuals are motivated by a wide array of activities such as communication, demonstration, observation, and competition.
"Complacency within technology teams happens for a variety of reasons. My first step would be to understand why the individuals I am working with are avoiding change. For example, if it turned out that the team was avoiding change because moving to another technology represented a significant work effort and they felt overwhelmed, I would use my strategic planning skills to break down the steps into small and reasonable chunks that the teams could manage iteratively.
If the team avoided change because they lacked training or skills, I would seek approval for the budget and time for training or shadowing. If the team was complacent because they were burnt out, I would seek to get approval for time away from work for teambuilding and renewal.
Regardless of the reason for complacency, I would make sure that I led by example. I would seek to continually innovate my practices as a technical program manager. This would include shadowing mentors, reading case studies from other teams and companies, and seeking training on the latest methodologies and practices available. I would also partner with architects and engineers to get their thoughts on how we could improve, and what the latest tools are that we should try. I would help do the research necessary to help resistors on the team understand why the change has a strong potential to add value."
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