michael eaton

Matt's starting something. :-)

For the most part, my list matches Matt's, but I'll expand a bit:

• Good communicator.
• I believe this implies good listening skills as well as good speaking skills.
• Problem solver.
• I can dig into a problem and a) find out what the problem is, b) understand why it's a problem and c) come up with one or more correct solutions.
• Focused on the user
• This means I try to give the user what they want, not necessarily what I think they need. I try to involve the user through the entire process. In my opinion, it's "all about them".
• Confident
• In my opinion, this is a must-have attribute of anyone in a team-lead (or consulting role).  Of course, there is a fine line between being confident and being a jackass. :-)
• Active learner
• I'm not sure what Matt meant by this one, but I'll say that I pursue learning opportunities in this field (IT) as well as other areas that interest me. I typically learn best by "doing".
• Willing and able to teach others
• I was a part-time faculty member at a local community college in 2001-2002.  For the most part, I taught introductory programming courses in VB6 and Java.  I absolutely loved the experience.  My students gave me great reviews - in fact, on the first day of my second semester, I had students lined up outside my door because they heard such good things about me. :-)