[interview "we are the competent people"] Paul Jagger

Next in our interview series 'we are the competent people', Paul Jagger shares his key competencies and how he selects, builds, maintains and shifts them over time. Paul is an IBM colleague of mine, and the global leader of IBM's internal Certified Learning Professionals community and board. Over the years, I witnessed Paul adapting his training expertise from classroom based to e-learning and growing in general business areas. As such he gives an example of how our competencies would fade if not maintained according to the ever changing nature of competence domains.

Paul David Jagger, Business Area Manager for IBM Learning Development - you'll find out all about me on linkedin...

Bert: - At what competence domain(s) would you consider yourself ‘competent’?

Paul: Well, I used to be competent in Explosive Ordnance Disposal, but those days are behind me. I now consider myself to be competent in a wide range of general business domains, including project management, business development, report writing, strategic planning, negotiation, consultative selling methods and not taking life too seriously.

Bert - Describe moment(s) where you grew the most in a particular competence domain.

Paul: When I was under pressure. The comfort zone is very close to the complacency zone, and two soon become indistinguishable - so I learn most when under a degree of pressure and challenged to achieve more.

Bert - How did you become good at what you do? How do you stay good?

Paul: The same way I would advise someone who asked me how to get to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

Bert - Do you care to share any tips for those who want to follow in your footsteps? What went well? What would have been even better if only...?

Paul : Believe in yourself, and don't be afraid of hard-work. Nothing worth achieving is ever easy to acquire, but each of us has the potential to go further than we give ourselves credit for.

Bert - How do you recognize competent people?

Paul: That's a difficult one to answer, I guess it's the results of a persons behaviour that determines it for me, although knowledge and skills are important in providing a foundation on which experience may be built. Ultimately one may have all the skills, knowledge and experience to perform a role competently, but it is behaviour in actually performing the role that determines the result and hence whether someone is competent.

Bert - Do you see yourself doing something completely different five or ten years from now?

Paul: Always, change is my friend and life-long travel companion. One of the reasons I have stayed in my current role for 7 years is that the role has changed and continues to change every year.

Bert - What do you think of the responsibilities of the knowledge professional at one hand, and the employing company at the other hand in terms of competence development?

Paul: My view here is simple, it's my career - I own it, I am responsible for maintaining it. My employer has a role to play in supporting me, and I have a duty to attain and maintain competency in domains that will keep me employed.

Bert - How would you categorize your professional network? Is it large, or do you keep it small? Is it composed primarily of people you meet regularly face to face, or is it very virtual, or any degree in between?

Paul: I have a very large professional network, and I prefer to meet face-to-face, even though much of my communication is done online. I am active in a number of professional bodies, industry panels and internal communities that have extended my network to many hundreds of professionals. That said, I'm getting to the stage where I keep bumping in to the same people in different situations - so I'm beginning to think that there is a self-selecting community of highly networked IT professionals who are ever more connected among each other.

Bert - Describe your ideal environment to thrive in.

Paul: One that has intellectually stimulating projects to work on, is populated with people who challenge my thinking and have a sense of humour.

Bert - How long did it take you to become good?

Paul: That depends, good at what? Time to competence is an interesting concept, since it suggests that there is an optimal time in which competence is, or should be acquired.

Bert - Are you involved in any ‘sharing’ activities? Do you think sharing helps you grow? Did you experience people taking advantage of the things you shared?

Paul: Oh yes, I am avid tweeter, blogger, wiki-author, I mentor colleagues, I participate in many forums and I volunteer as an assessor with a professional body. These activities have been among the best continuous professional development efforts that I have undertaken. I regularly get feedback from colleagues that my sharing has a positive and immediate impact upon their ability to perform their role better.

Bert - How do you feel about the ‘self-reliant’ professional? Do you find the evolution to ‘self’; self-steering, self-succeeding or self-failing, ... a liberating evolution or one that rings alarm bells?  

Paul: I'm uneasy with the concept of self-reliance, since I rely on many people to help me and vice versa. Self-motivated is a more accurate description. I take full and personal responsibility for my development, but I definitely need the help of others to get me where I want to go every day of the week.

Bert - How do you think your competence should be evaluated?

Paul: By peer review, with objective, analytical criteria based upon dose of empirical evidence.

Bert: What determines excellence in a particular competency domain for you?

When someone is so good at their role - they should be teaching others. Those who are excellent have a duty to teach, sadly not all those who teach are excellent.