At school, I was the child who sat quietly in the corner, and whose every school report said in some form of words “Claire is very quiet and needs to participate in class discussion more”. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to say, it was just that others were more vocal, and discussion always moved at such a pace that by the time there was a gap anything I had to say was out of date. I am an extreme introvert, that’s not to say I don’t like having company or I’m shy, those are very different things. I get my strength from solitary pursuits; music, reading, drawing which in turn enables me to fully participate when with others.
Music has always been a solace for me, whether playing or listening and as a musician one of the biggest joys is performing which is an interesting juxtaposition for an introvert but somehow it makes sense, it’s all a process of exchanging energy. It doesn’t have to be in front of an audience, I swear some of the best playing and singing I’ve ever done has been in an empty church with no one around apart from my accompanist. It’s the process of sharing and communicating with a single purpose, the interpretation of a vision (both the composers and your own), the translation of sound into a feeling, a thought, a memory, of taking listeners on a journey to help them move beyond the immediate.
So, where is this ramble taking us… Like many women in IT I sort of fell into this career, I trained as a librarian and spent my holidays working at a local service provider at the dawn of the internet (UK Online for those interested). It was here that I learned HTML which in turn allowed me to find a job when I left University and faced the stark realisation that there aren’t that many jobs for newly qualified, straight out of school librarians with no experience. I was either not experienced enough for the roles I was qualified for or over-qualified for the more junior positions. Over time, I progressed from a web developer to a slightly more “hard-core” Perl developer which in turn led me to join the Institute of Learning Technology at the University of Bristol on the 4th of March 2002.
During my time at Bristol, I’ve had the joy of progressing through many different roles which included a return to my original aspirations in a library when I helped support the main library management system. Once the library system had been moved to a 3rd party supplier, I found myself at a loose end. No longer truly a developer and with no desire to become one again I shifted sideways into the Research IT team as a Relationship Manager. The move from a technical role into a more project-based, facilitation role was daunting at first but very quickly I knew I’d found what I wanted to do.
Listening to researchers and delving into their aspirations, interpreting their ideas into a reality, helping them along a journey (you see where I was going with the ramble now?). To me communication in whatever form is vital. The processes of active listening, guidance and requirement clarification are fundamental elements of any successful project. So many problems and issues can be resolved if we just stop and truly share what we are trying to achieve but also to make sure that we are understanding what others are trying to achieve too. Most importantly be open about that goal and the benefits you hope it will bring and if you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask for further information.
My experiences and the skills I have learnt during my time in Research IT and the strong leadership and support of my managers (both female) has given me the confidence to start yet another part of my career this time as a Business Analyst within the IT Architecture Team. I’m going to miss Research IT but am very much looking forward to introducing a new approach into the strategic projects that can sometimes lose track of the benefits they’re trying to deliver and who they are trying to help. I’ve transitioned from the quiet child in the corner to a capable adult who can (and does) make their voice heard, who will take the lead on discussions and one who I hope builds relationships and bridges across all parts of IT.