Slide deck from Nordic Testing Days Keynote where I talk about effective behaviours for employees who want to remain relevant and employable. If you want to be looked at for promotion, extra responsibility and career development then these behaviours will help you.

1. NORDIC
TESTING
DAYS
Remaining Relevant
by Rob Lambert
www.thesocialtester.co.uk

2. IT’S THE PERSON
NOT JUST THE SKILLS
Attitude.
Belief.
Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Relentless pursuit of improvement.
Alignment to the purpose.

3. DEREK
He’s awesome at testing.
Truly awesome.

4. RESUME =
AWESOME
He has an ISTQB, CBPBOS, APB,
MIT, ATM, DTT

5. HE GETS THE
JOB
Almost every job he goes for.
He is hirable.

6. DEREK IS
TALENTED
However:
• He is overlooked
• He quits jobs often
• His contracts don’t get renewed

7. DEREK IS
Hirable.
And seemingly relevant.
He has the right skills.
But he doesn’t have the right
attitude.

8. STOP KILLING
MY
CREATIVITY
Stop telling me what to build, I
want to decide.

9. GIVE ME 6
MONTHS
I’LL DELIVER
WOW

10. TESTING IS
MINE
“Fight Agile to the
DEATH!”

11. IT
SUCKS
A tester told me this
once, yet his colleague
was thriving in that
team.

12. THAT’S NOT IN
MY JOB
DESCRIPTION

13. QUITTING
IS
TRENDY
The grass is seldom
greener on the other side.

14. BAD WORK
EXISTS
Not everyone can choose to avoid
bad work.
Avoiding “bad work” often means
running away from change and
opportunities.

15. IF NOT SKILLS?
THEN WHAT?
Thanks to:
Amy Phillips
Stephen Janaway
Adam Knight
Behaviours and Outcomes

16. 10
BEHAVIOURS

17. 1. VISIBLY
PASSIONATE
Show your passion
in a positive fashion

18. EVER WORKED
WITH A
HATER?
Brings you down, right?
Try not to be that person.
Be a force for good.

19. 2. BE
AGGRESSIVELY
OPEN-MINDED

20. “It seems to me that beliefs about the future are
so rarely correct that they usually aren't worth
the extra rigidity they impose, and that the best
strategy is simply to be aggressively open-
minded.
Instead of trying to point yourself in the right
direction, admit you have no idea what the right
direction is, and try instead to be super
sensitive to the winds of change.”
Paul Graham – How to be an expert in a changing world
http://paulgraham.com/ecw.html

21. 3. DRAW A
FRAME
AROUND
YOURSELF
Draw a frame - but don’t restrain

22. WHEN WE DEFINE
OURSELVES
WE CONFINE
OURSELVES

23. Opportunities, business problems
and learning exist between roles

24. 4. GET
SMART
Become company smart
Right from the start

25. With a wider awareness
You will be surprised less often

26. Somebody somewhere is
enjoying success with an
approache or process that is
different to yours.
Don’t just follow the latest “trend”.
Do what your company needs
doing.
Be in line with the purpose.

27. 5. WHO’S THE
CUSTOMER?
Who do you work for?
Who buys the service?
Who uses the software?
What values do they have?
What do they expect from you?

28. FOCUS ON
THEM
Focus on meeting their
expectations

29. 6. IMPROVE
THE
PROCESS
Relentlessly…but from your
customer’s perspective

30. Here’s a process improvement
that helped a company report
Can I have 10 volunteers please?

31. Improving the process is part of
your job.
Here’s a (seemingly) simple way
to do it:
1. Observe the process
2. Fix the process
3. Bring in IT
Via John Seddon - Vanguard

32. 7. DO WHAT
YOU
SAY YOU WILL
If you say you’ll do it.
Do it. (DOD, Feedback)
Integrity is important.

33. 8. COMMUNICATE
WELL
Become uber great
and learn how to communicate

34. Communicate. Communicate.
Communicate.
Purpose
Audience
Context
Understanding Non-Verbal
communication is a
SUPERPOWER

35. 9. ADD
SKILLS
Skill + Skill + Skill
= Value

36. “If you think extraordinary talent and a
maniacal pursuit of excellence are necessary
for success, I say that’s just one approach,
and probably the hardest. When it comes to
skills, quantity often beats quality.”
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:
By Scott Adams

37. Testing + Support + Technical Writing
Testing + Coding + Teaching
Testing + Management
Testing + Marketing + Coaching
Testing + Foreign Language

38. 10. BE
BRAVE
• Don’t be afraid to challenge the
norms and status-quo
• Don’t be afraid to try new ways
of working

39. TEN
BEHAVIOURS
1. Be Visibly Passionate
2. Be Aggressively Open-Minded
3. Draw A Frame Around Yourself
4. Become Company Smart
5. Learn Who Your Customers Are
6. Improve The Process
7. Do What You Say You Will
8. Communicate
9. Add Skills
10. Be Brave

40. THANK YOUBlog
www.thesocialtester.co.uk
Management Course
www.cultivatedmanagement.com
Twitter
@rob_lambert
NewVoiceMedia
www.newvoicemedia.com