Curiosity, Confidence, and Communication: The Human Side of Tech

Two sessions on Thursday morning, the final day of Community Summit, “Beyond the Tech: Why Solutions Fail without Human Alignment (and How to Fix It)” and “The Only Woman in the Room” spotlighted the non-technical side of tech work. Presenters discussed ways to facilitate better communication and handle interpersonal conflict.

Let Curiosity Replace Defensiveness

There was a healthy crowd, especially for a final day, for Chris Gannon, Sr. Cloud Solutions Architect at Microsoft, whose session was titled “Beyond the Tech: Why Solutions Fail without Human Alignment (and How to Fix It).” Gannon’s engaging session included using the story of Goldilocks, an anecdote from his past as an actor, and a dramatic illustration of a sinking boat to effectively illustrate common psychological blind spots that lead to misunderstandings and ultimately hold teams and work back. Key takeaways included:

• Recognizing everyone has their own perception of reality, and that “the real enemy is the certainty that our reality is their reality.”
  
• When someone disagrees with you, take it as an opportunity to be curious; they likely have information you do not have. “Curiosity is the willingness to believe there’s information you don’t have yet,” said Gannon.
  
• Human alignment comes first, before selecting technologies or building solutions. Teams need to agree on the outcome they’re trying to achieve before deciding on how to achieve it.
  
• Instead of asking “Why are they making this so difficult?”, ask, “What are they protecting?”
  
• When projects go wrong, the problem isn’t necessarily incompetence or poor communication. Different stakeholders may be acting on reasonable assumptions but working toward different interpretations of the same goal.
  
• Curiosity doesn’t require agreement.

Gannon’s panel concluded with a commercial from his past, for an erstwhile gaming technology called XaviX. By diving into the experience of troubleshooting a problem on the commercial set, Gannon illustrated how someone with a different perspective can recognize a solution that experts have overlooked.

Making Your Voice Heard

A women-only panel convened mid-morning to discuss the impact of gender on their experiences implementing ERP in “The Only Woman in the Room,” a Women in Tech session. Moderated by Kim Congleton, the panel featured Linda Huth, Charlotte Kinney, Whitney Mothershed, and Angie Whittington, who shared experiences leading ERP implementations and navigating male-dominated IT environments. The session included answers to thoughtful questions collected in advance, such as how to establish credibility when you’re the only woman in the room and how to balance confidence and directness with expectations about how women should communicate. Key takeaways included:

• Recording meetings, generating AI summaries, and sending recaps with key stakeholders cc’d can be effective ways to document difficult interactions, establish accountability, and protect against misrepresentations of what was said.
  
• “Somebody’s lack of respect for me does not define my reaction to them,” said Mothershed, emphasizing the importance of maintaining composure even when others behave disrespectfully.
  
• “Bad news doesn’t get better with age,” said Huth, who encouraged communicating project delays and capacity problems early rather than allowing unrealistic expectations to lead to burnout.
  
• Documenting contributions is essential, particularly when someone else takes credit for your ideas. Panelists recommended following up on conversations in writing and using tools such as Copilot to track accomplishments for performance reviews.
  
• Building a network of peers through conferences, user groups, and professional relationships can provide invaluable support. Other ERP professionals often face similar challenges and can share practical solutions.

Mothershed recounted an experience in which she was presenting a carefully prepared ERP implementation plan when a male colleague interrupted her to ask her male boss whether he agreed with it. Rather than answer on her behalf, her boss immediately deferred to Mothershed, reinforcing her authority over the project. The anecdote illustrated how even a brief intervention from a supportive leader can establish credibility and counteract assumptions about women’s expertise.

Final Thoughts

After four days of largely technical immersion, these sessions were a nice landing for the end of the conference. Participants were able to walk away with techniques that not only may benefit them at work but could also be beneficial in any situation with other human beings. And, even in the age of AI, there are still plenty of those.