Date Published September 19, 2017 - Last Updated December 6, 2017
In January 2017, HDI presented the Top 25 Thought Leaders in Technical Support and Service Management. To help you get to know them better and learn what it means to be a community leader, we’ve interviewed each of our thought leaders. Today, we hear from Simone Moore.
Tell us about your day job and also how you are involved in the community.
The life of running my own business, SJM, as an independent consultant and master trainer can be quite different from one day to the next. After long-term management roles, I enjoy being a practitioner in a variety of countries and environments and working with all levels of an organization in their improvement journeys. Combining my service management and organizational change management (OCM), it’s very satisfying to help organizations make a difference to the way they work and the experience their people and customers then receive. When not away on projects, training, or speaking at an event, I’m usually researching, writing blogs, and developing course content. I base my work on four principles: connect, share, discover, and realize!
Giving back is made easier with communities like HDIConnect, Back2ITSM on Facebook, and LinkedIn groups. Then there’s the podcasts like ITSMCrowd, writing blogs (for myself and others), conducting webinars, and being at events. I particularly enjoy speaking at conferences with the face-to-face interaction.
What motivates you to be active in the community?
It is through industry mentors that I became involved, and I so much enjoy working with them as part of a virtual team even if we are not working in the same company, project, or country. Within our community there is a natural aspect of communication, collaboration, and sharing. More importantly, you have a network that is strong and supportive. As with any other industry, not every day is “roses,” so you can feel at ease knowing you’re not alone, ask questions, and know that you’ll receive an answer. It’s a place where new blood is welcomed, supported, and developed. My knowledge is enhanced by this and seeing the lightbulb moments and smiles when you help others feels fabulous.
What suggestions do you have for tech support professionals interested in getting more involved in the community?
Turn up! Even if you’re just starting out, introduce yourself in the social media streams of the community and just lurk for a little while if that makes you feel more comfortable. Spend a few minutes each day, while having your cup of goodness, strolling through the industry park. Stop and smell the flowers of knowledge as they take your fancy. Be open to multiple framework and method forums. You’ll find fairly quickly that you’ll want to comment or share an experience, and that’s where you start your contribution to the overall knowledge and wisdom from which we all benefit.
In addition to the groups I’ve mentioned, check out the Twitter feeds of some of the thought leaders, look at who they follow, and add them to the lists of topics that interest you. Build a strong network of industry colleagues and conversations by attending events and/or being a member of organizations like HDI and itSMF. We all have a story to tell, and your experience is valuable. So participate in panels and podcasts. And when you see one of us at an event, tap us on the shoulder and say hello as we’ll soon have you chatting with others of like-mind.
What trends do you anticipate for the business of support over the next few years?
For all the automation and self-service being pushed, I’m happy to see a stronger move to more human-to-human focus as the core for creating and finding solutions. Everything is subject to change—it would be a boring, stagnant place otherwise! We need greater integration and skill to cross-pollinate frameworks and methods (not just the IT ones). With that in mind, more organization change management approaches, methods, and techniques are being understood, so I hope we see silo structures and thinking mitigated, diluted, and eventually morphed into more collaborative and improvement-based working cultures. I particularly like that Knowledge Centered Service (KCS) is gaining more awareness, creating transformations, and helping to evolve this kind of culture. People are experiencing that knowledge has no boundaries and is the lifeblood of any organization.
We need greater integration and skill to cross-pollinate frameworks and methods.
Amy Eisenberg is the editor for HDI where she works with industry experts and practitioners to create content for technical support professionals. She has worked in B2B media and scholarly publishing for more than 20 years, developing content for print and digital magazines, print and email newsletters, websites, conferences, and technical seminars. Follow Amy on Twitter @eisenbergamy, and connect with her on LinkedIn.