IMLP UK - New Beginnings

While researching IMLP, I was amazed at the fantastic opportunities the program offers in terms of training and development over the four six-month rotations. However, I always found it challenging to get a grasp of the type of work you would be responsible for as a member of the program within such a vast company. I’ve since discovered the reason for this is that the work is so varied – every day is a new experience and no two IMLP rotations are the same! I felt it would be useful however for me to give an overview of the work I’ve been doing so far and what I’ve learnt during my time on IMLP.

I currently work within the Technology Services Group (TSG). TSG is a cross business team providing Architecture services (Infrastructure, Application & Data) across the Aviation & Energy divisions.  Within TSG I am placed with the On Demand team, which manages our private cloud environment. It’s a great example of how GE is embracing emerging technologies and using them to generate cost efficiencies for the business. In addition to being cheaper than a traditional physical server, our virtual servers have reduced build times from an average of 6 weeks down to around 30 minutes! This allows our development teams to start working on new services far faster than ever before.

My role is to develop a capacity utilization dashboard to inform our internal customers of how much system resource they are consuming. This is vital as they are charged on a utility basis – much like a cellphone bill – so we can save the business a lot of money by providing this insight and adjusting virtual server allocation to match consumption.

My technical learning is focused around the Extract, Trasnform and Load (ETL) process, which is where data from multiple sources is pulled, cleansed and consolidated in a single source. This process is critical to Data Warehousing – which is a vital skill to possess as we enter the era of Big Data. TSG is full of technology experts so I’ve expanded my knowledge in other areas too, such as IP Provisioning & Web Service – simply by having conversations with the experts in those roles  

Additionally, my Assignment Leader brought me to Cincinnati for 3 weeks to meet the team and understand the wider business better. That was a fantastic experience. In addition to meeting my team to ‘put a name to a face’, I was able to sit with wider TSG leadership during my time in Cincinnati, which was exposure I would never have managed had I remained in Cheltenham.

Another great thing about IMLP is that the program is driven by the IMLPs themselves. So in addition to my rotational work I’ve organised recruitment events at both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities and helped run our IMLP assessment centres in London. This was great fun as I remember what it was like to be in that position myself a year ago – and as IMLPs we can help improve the process for the following year’s intake.

IMLP UK - Going back to school

Leah illustrates in an artistic way her concepts to the students, putting her imagination at work!When I returned to my university to give a presentation on being an IMLP graduate, I thought I wouldn’t feel any different than when I was there as a student.  Even though I only graduated earlier this year, I realised how much I had changed since being here at GE Corporate. 

After the presentation I took time to take questions from both the students and the tutors, I was asked “What’s the best thing about being an IMLP?”  Immediately I knew answer…

My first five weeks at GE I spent in Junior Bootcamp (Detroit, US). It was an intensive learning development program that exposed me to new programming languages, financial skills and presentation guidance (to name but a few).  Junior Bootcamp gave me the opportunity to kick start my learning curve with a bang!  The training hasn’t ended there; I have recently attended ITIL training.  The latest buzz in the IT industry is ITIL, it’s a set of best practices that helps service providers realise the value to their customers.  Furthermore, through regular mentoring from the GE Corporate leaders, I am learning communication and leadership skills.

The IMLP Training Roadmap is a set course over the next two years. I started my journey with Junior Bootcamp; then travelled further on to complete a virtual Business Writing course and an Application Lifecycle course.  Next year I will attend Foundations of Leadership (Munich, Germany) and Senior Bootcamp (Shanghai, China). The Roadmap ahead of me is going to be hard work but I know that at the end of the two years I will have grown even further.

So what is the answer to “What’s the best thing about being an IMLP?”….

For me the best thing about being an IMLP is how much time and effort GE puts into developing me as a professional worker and a person.

IMLP: Business Professionals with IT Expertise

© NH Business Resource CenterHave you ever noticed how hard it is sometimes, for any company, to put together in a conversation a very technical person (no matter in which area) and a Business Leader, and have them understand each other?

While the Business Leader owns the bigger picture, interested on how everything ties up to the company’s strategy, the technical person gets deep on the details, most of the time showing things that really don’t make any difference to the higher level. I have seen that happen to me as well (playing the technical guy role, of course).

One day I was presenting the strategy for the upgrade of some servers to a Business Leader working outside of IT. I prepared a very nice timeline slide that showed all servers with their “war names,” which projects were being done in each of them, when they were going to be phased out, etc. From my end, it seemed great. When the leader saw it, though, it took me 10 minutes to explain that the blue box was the old server, the green was the new one, the “xyz” server was the staging one, and the “abc” was the Production (and the most important to him). And then he said: “OK. This slide looks great, and I can understand everything with you by my side explaining, which is good. But I think you should show somehow, in an easy way, that the new servers are way better than the old ones. This would sell the idea to me even more.” What he meant with that was (in my own words), "Show me in Business numbers how much I can grow with your solution, for how long I won't need to worry about infrastructure, and how much faster can I generate my reports."

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IMLP and the “special snowflake” theory

Have you ever noticed that whenever you are part of a selected group of people, you tend to feel like you are special? After all, if you were chosen, it means that you have the skills, characteristics, etc. required to be part of that group.

When it comes to the IMLP, this is no different. You enter the program because you meet the desired skillset and behavior, and are considered to be someone with the potential to become a GE Leader. But what does being special really mean?

Some people who apply for (and join) leadership programs tend to think that getting into a program is the only thing that they had to do. From that point on, they are like “special snowflakes.” Suddenly, because they were chosen, they “know it all,” and after two years of being on program (on average, depending on the company and program), they will become the “Master Manager Plus of All Things.” They want everyone to know who they are, to feel recognized just because of their position, and to be looked by others like “Wow, look at that person, he/she is a leadership program, how cool!” Here in Brazil, I have seen this happen sometimes. Have you ever seen it where you live as well?

This pitfall can lead to a misunderstanding of what a leadership program is about.

At GE, the IMLP program – no matter where in the world – is intended to accelerate the career and learning path of those who have potential, not turn them into “monsters” after two years. The four different rotations will expose you to a wide variety of topics, people, styles, and technologies. Thus, after the program, you can be prepared to take any assignment or role, because you have developed (or enhanced) your ability to learn fast, interact with others, and generate results.

And how do these abilities get developed? That’s the part where the word "special" can fit, and here are some examples (you can check details here):

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Be involved, be an IMLP!

(C) Promethean PlanetThe Information Management Leadership Program is widely recognized as a premiere leadership and IT development program inside a strong company, GE. As an IMLP, this means being part of a great, global team that is spread out across all five continents while collaborating every day through the most advanced collaboration tools. Being an IMLP also means staying connected with all of the exciting events occurring globally within GE.

In order to successfully manage the huge amount of work needed to prepare these events, both collaboration and exposure to top management must be continuously enforced.  As an IMLP, you could have the opportunity to participate and/or have a leading role in the organization of international job fairs, global meetings, and volunteering initiatives. Moreover, as part of your assignments, you will be responsible for delivering added value to the company. For example, you can be involved in updating and renovating official websites or writing for a globally known blog, like I’m doing right now.

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