Allow Your Curiosity To Be Insatiable with Dave Malouf

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Dave Malouf. Dave a Consultant, Coach and Educator. His mission is to help designers and design teams reach their value potential for the organisations they work with. He has been a designer, a design leader, and a former professor of design. And brings this to bear with frameworks and methods to help professionals level up. He is a co-founder of the Interaction Design Association, the co-founder of several conferences as well as a writer, a globally sought after speaker and workshop facilitator. In this episode, Phil and Dave discuss the likelihood of having multiple careers, why you can unintentionally become a zealot and why having an insatiable curiosity can drive your career forward. Dave also talks how significant a part of your life your career is and why understanding people is such a useful skill.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.19) TOP CAREER TIP You will have multiple careers in your life. Being open to that reality helps you craft your story for yourself. It's important to acknowledge that you will have those career shifts. Dave believes that he has had multiple careers even though they are all broadly within the digital product and service design field.   (6.41) WORST CAREER MOMENT Dave talks about his first real management moment. This was at a time when he was shifting from being a web designer and learning about more traditional design practices. Dave feels that, although not deliberately, he was becoming zealot due to having passion for what he was learning whilst leading a team. However he wasn't taking his team along on the learning journey with him. He learnt that it's important to make it meaningful to them and help them to join the journey.   (9.36) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Dave says that the greatest success in his career is happening right now. He has managed to find a voice for himself and at the right time. Amplifying his voice and story has been successful for him as well as finding his strengths through understanding himself better.   (13.00) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Dave says that it's a digital world, for good and for bad. You can work in the field of information technology in any shape or form and impact any part of the world. Dave then talks about working in cloud computing for Rack Space and the volume of e-commerce running on their servers. However he subsequently learnt that organisations as varied as Cern and Notre Dame University were also using their platform.   (15.21) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – It wasn't a conscious decision. Dave discovered the world of computers in the early 1990. He bought his first laptop and was thrown into the world of CompuServe and AOL and became addicted to it. What's the best career advice you received? – Go to where you're going to find joy in your life because work is a significant part of your life. Also find the right manager that will help you to develop your career What's the worst career advice you received? – Dave says that he has received criticism about having a number of short term engagements on his resume. However he doesn't believes that it has been a strength of his career, providing learning opportunities and a range of experience. What would you do if you started your career now? – Go for a Design MBA, providing a formal background to business. Dave says that he is particularly interested in business operations. What are your current career objectives? – Stabilising his relatively new consultancy practice and making it a solid business What's your number one non-technical skill? – It's all about people and understanding who people are. Dave applies it to building relationships and navigating politics. How do you keep your own career energized? – Conferences is a big part of this. Attendance, creation and teaching are all factors What do you do away from technology? – Dave says that he loves to travel, which being a consultant and a conference speaker enables him to do.   (26.44) FINAL CAREER TIP Stay curious. The mentees he loves the most are those who have an insatiable curiosity. They apply it to skills about also to learning about themselves.   BEST MOMENTS (5.27) – Dave - "You will have multiple careers in your life. Being open to that reality helps you craft that story for yourself" (8.01) – Dave - "No matter how impassioned you are about something, you can't lead people by pulling them" (11.22) – Dave - "Sometimes we need to be true to our strengths to become really successful" (15.11) – Dave - "What excites me about a career in I.T. is that you get to decide where you want to have an impact in the world" (18.05) – Dave - "Don't look for a job, look for a manager"   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – DAVE MALOUF Dave Malouf is a Consultant, Coach and Educator. His mission is to help designers and design teams reach their value potential for the organisations they work with. He has been a designer, a design leader, and a former professor of design. And brings this to bear with frameworks and methods to help professionals level up.  He is a co-founder of the Interaction Design Association, the co-founder of several conferences as well as a writer, a globally sought after speaker and workshop facilitator.   CONTACT THE GUEST – DAVE MALOUF Dave Malouf can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/daveixd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmalouf Website: http://davemalouf.design