Be A Sponge CTO

The first time I worked with one, I didn’t immediately understand what was different. It took me some time to put my finger on it. Eventually I realized I had the luck of working with a sponge. What a blast!

Sponges are rare in general. They’re common among the ranks of ICs, but for some reason, as people go up the senior management track, they seem to “dry up.” That’s a shame, because sponges learn the fastest, seem most fulfilled in their work, and motivate everyone around them. You can be more spongy as well. Are you ready, kids?

Our Poor Default Stance

Frankly, too many senior leaders I got to work with were the opposite of the sponge. They were armadillos. They defaulted to deflecting away feedback and suggestions. When they felt threatened, they figuratively balled up and waited for things to pass.

They said things are ok, they found excuses why the feedback isn’t exactly right, or they agreed to things but only paid lip service. They’ll do the minimal amount needed to get you off their backs. Eventually, they’ll get going (otherwise, working with a coach or advisor wouldn’t make much sense), but it’s like they need a whole show and dance before finally caving in.

The Sponge Benefits

Sponges, in contrast? They get going before you even finish formulating the action items. They soak it all up as fast as you can throw it at them. Every meeting starts with the assumption that whatever was discussed is already done, or at least in full swing. We only go over things again if they have more questions, rarely to remind or prod them.

I’ve been fortunate enough to help quite a few sponges over the years. Experience shows they tend to grow the fastest. A recurring pattern I’ve seen is sponges rapidly getting promoted and advancing in a company from IC roles to executive ones, all the way to the C-Suite. Often, CEOs trust them a lot.

Spongify Yourself

If I’ve managed to pique your interest, adopt these attitudes to change your default stance and transform from the rolled-up armadillo to a fun-loving sponge.

Stop considering yourself a snowflake: You can try to list all the different reasons why general best practices won’t work in your specific case. You can try to reinvent the wheel every time. But it is much more useful to accept that your uniqueness often should lie in different parts, related to the business and innovation, those that are visible in the product itself.

Choose to be coachable: Make a conscious choice to seek feedback and input rather than shying away from it. A week without feedback is a week wasted (at least from the personal growth point of view).

Swap “can’t” and “no” for “yes” and “how?”: Don’t automatically reject whatever suggestions you receive or try to explain why it won’t work in your case. Instead, work with a default assumption that the input is worthwhile and can help you, and try to find ways to make it work.

Move forward rapidly with baby steps: Sponges don’t wait for perfection before making their move. Once they understand the right general direction, they start making progress and course-correct along the way. You learn more doing than hypothesizing.

You can be more like a sponge, and it doesn’t necessarily mean being yellow. If you’re wondering which should be your first step in choosing what to work on, check out the free Tech Executive Scorecard!