The Human Side of Technology - People Come First

 

People Come Before the Job

We are living through strange and difficult times. Our county has been under a shelter in place order for months. Some restrictions are beginning to ease, and we have been fortunate that our local healthcare system has been able to manage the case numbers so far.

Still, there is another cost that is becoming harder to ignore. It is not just about the health of our networks, systems, or businesses. It is about the health of the people doing the work, including their mental health and overall well-being.

A lesson I learned early

From 1999 to 2002, I worked for a technology startup called eHealthInsurance. At the time, it was everything I wanted in a job: a fresh approach to health insurance, an energetic leadership team, and a company that seemed excited to have me. I was young, motivated, and eager to contribute.

In 2001, my wife and I were expecting a baby. I spoke with my manager about transferring from the Bay Area to the Sacramento area, where we planned to raise our family. The move was approved.

We sold our home in San Jose, moved in with my in laws temporarily, and bought a home in Roseville. The plan was for me to stay in San Jose until our daughter was born in 2002.

Then life changed quickly.

The September 11 attacks happened. As a former firefighter and EMT, I felt the loss deeply. Soon after, the dot com bubble burst and the economy entered a downturn.

Early in 2002, the vice president of engineering learned about my move and revoked the approval for my transfer. This happened only two months before my daughter was due. We had already sold our house, were living with my in-laws, and were preparing to move into our new home.

It was a shock. We had made major decisions based on an agreement that was suddenly gone.

The meeting that changed my view of leadership

I spent the next several weeks trying to keep the conversation open and find a solution. The company already had a telecommuting policy for employees who lived more than 50 miles from the office. I hoped that some flexibility would be possible.

At our final meeting, I was told that my position would not transfer to Folsom. I would be required to work in Sunnyvale five days a week. Even if I moved to the Roseville area, roughly 120 miles away, I would not be allowed to work from home or from the Folsom office.

I was disappointed, but I also knew the decision had been made. After months of trying to do the right thing and communicate openly, I resigned.

That experience stayed with me.

My point is not to dwell on an old job. It is to highlight a lesson about management. As leaders, we have a responsibility to care about our employees as people, not simply as resources.

That leader saw the situation only as a business problem. There was no room for my family, the difficult economy, the baby we were expecting, or the fact that my manager had approved the move months earlier.

Understanding what people need now

Today, I am a vice president of IT. I manage people, carry responsibilities, and report to leaders above me. But none of that removes my responsibility to lead with compassion and empathy.

Recently, an employee came to me to talk about how the pandemic had affected their mental well-being. They were feeling isolated and struggling with the uncertainty of life during COVID-19.

I listened. I told them they were not alone.

Many of us have felt the strain. The boundaries between work and home have blurred. Workdays stretch into long hours while families share the same space all day. It can feel like we are caught somewhere between a permanent vacation and a constant workday.

Some days, it is hard to find motivation. Some days, it is hard to focus. That does not mean people are failing. It means they are human.

The specifics of what the employee needed were less important than making space for the conversation. They needed to be heard, and I needed to respond with understanding and flexibility.

Their health and well-being mattered more than the immediate task in front of them.

The kind of leader I want to be

After that conversation, I realized something important. I had become the leader I needed when I was in that difficult situation in 2002.

Over my career in IT, I have tried to learn from the best managers I have worked for. I have also learned from the ones who showed me what not to do. My goal has always been to combine those lessons with my passion for technology and become the best leader I can be.

This experience reminded me that leadership is not just about projects, budgets, systems, or results. It is about people.

COVID-19, shelter in place orders, social unrest, and economic uncertainty have taken a real toll on many people. Work life and personal life have blended together in ways few of us expected. Focus can become difficult. Isolation can become overwhelming.

As managers and supervisors, we need to make room for compassion. We need to listen. We need to remember that every employee has a life outside of work, with challenges we may not always see.

Business matters. Results matter. But the people doing the work matter more.

That is how I want to lead, every day.