Chris Pope of Air New Zealand: Church organiser to ICT leader
- 20 December, 2013 07:00
Pope moved to New Zealand with his Kiwi wife after establishing a career in project management in the United States. But it was his background outside technology, specifically the communication and people skills, that got him into the information technology arena.
Pope completed a BA in communication at the University of Central Florida and a Masters in Theology and Christian ministry at the Regent University in the US.
“I learned small group facilitation while leading Bible studies. I learned the basics of matrix management by leading volunteers
“I found that I had a knack for organising things,” he says when he started working in various local churches in Florida as volunteer and organiser. He also honed his people skills during this time.
“I learned small group facilitation while leading Bible studies with teenagers. I learned the basics of matrix management by leading volunteers – just like your project team, you must motivate apart from line-management authority. In ministry I developed my public speaking skills and style that I use when speaking at conferences and training sessions to this day.”
Next: Summer job in Cairo leads to IT career
Page Break
In high school, he was computer literate enough to get into IT-related jobs. “But I would not tag myself a techie,” says Pope.
Pope spent summers with his parents at the US embassy in Cairo. His father was then with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), working with the Egyptian government on agricultural forecasting and statistical analysis. Because of his ability to navigate around a spreadsheet, he was hired as ‘computer operator’ with USAID's summer hire programme. “This was nice to put on my CV,” says Pope.
His first big break into IT was in 1997. As a result of the Telecommunications Act in the United States, internet related companies were booming, and a national ISP bought a local ISP, the Epoch Networks in Irvine, California, that had a local dial-up technical support team.
Pope joined that team as operations supervisor for the customer care centre. “Up until that time, technical support consisted of five techies in a room debating who the better captain of the Starship Enterprise was, comparing Star Wars action figures, and getting very annoyed at the non-technical people who invaded their internet and ask them for help!”
'Soft skills'
The newly hired director had a mandate to turn around “technical support” into a professional “customer care” centre and bring a level of professionalism and customer service that was required of a national provider.
“His philosophy was that you can teach people technical (IT) skills, but you cannot teach them personality,” says Pope. “I was hired not for my technical skills, but for my professionalism and people skills to help him turn around the environment.”
Pope says he will always be grateful to that director who saw the value of what is now referred in executive management discourse as ‘soft skills’.
Those were the heady days of the internet, with dotcoms going public. The ISP he was working for was growing, and Pope was soon asked to create a programme to provide ‘white label’ support to branded resellers.
During this time he attended a project management course, and realised it was what he has been doing all along. But back then, project management was not recognised as a profession, and seen as “just being good at organising stuff”, says Pope.
The dotcom bubble burst before the company went public, so Pope looked for a new job. He was hired as junior project manager by a healthcare company in their technology planning and deployment team.
“My boss was an excellent leader and she paired me with a very good mentor who helped me learn the very complex industry, and the finer skills of project management,” recalls Pope. He also took advantage of the company’s training budget to go on project management courses and get his Project Management Professional certification.
“The company grew through acquisition and several of my projects were migrating core systems from acquired systems to the single platform.”
When these projects were completed, Pope moved to New Zealand. Because of his large project experience he was hired as service delivery director with a boutique project management consultancy. This stint introduced him to the local market and he set up his own consulting company, the Valde Group. In 2008, the opportunity came to re-establish the IT PMO at Air New Zealand. “As a lifelong aviation geek I jumped at the chance.”
Next: 'Has anyone seen my Palm Pilot?'
Page Break
So what pointers can he give to ICT professionals?
“Evolve or die” was the motto of the ISP he worked for in the 1990s. It still rings true today as technology, business trends and customer preferences are ever changing, says Pope. “If you are slow to adapt, you will be left behind and eventually slide into irrelevance… Has anyone seen my Palm Pilot?”
He recommends developing leadership and communication skills. “Theory may be taught in classes and books, but if you want to progress your career you need to know how to lead people and communicate effectively… technical skills will only get you so far.”
And lastly, share your knowledge and experience. “Research shows that successful leaders help others be successful,” says Pope. “You reap what you sow.”
Follow Divina Paredes on Twitter: @divinap
Follow CIO New Zealand on Twitter:@cio_nz
Sign up for CIO newsletters for regular updates on CIO news, views and events.
Chris Pope on:
Innovation is an inherently risky place to be, more so when you are depending on a vendor for the project. Here are some critical steps to help you reduce the risk and raise the chances for your project success.
A popular business trend that I would like to see make a comeback from the 1980s is “Management By Walking Around” (“MBWA” for those who like catchy acronyms).
How to 'failure-proof' your projects
Don’t neglect the basics – they are the cause of most mishaps, not complex or unforeseen problems.