This month, we shine the spotlight on Brad Boyle, Project Manager at Elantis. Brad is involved in many of our projects and works closely with the delivery team to ensure a positive experience for our customers. His passion for technology started as a teenager when he had the opportunity to work alongside his mother and her friends to build a computer. Since then, Brad’s passion for process became his forte along his career in IT project management. In this interview, Brad shares his go-to method for overcoming challenges and how diversity can be a difficult yet exciting part of his role.
Andrea Nwobosi: Welcome, Brad. I’m so excited to interview you this month for our employee spotlight. So welcome.
Brad Boyle: Thank you.
Andrea: Glad you’re here. So how about we start off with a little bit of background about what you do here at Elantis, your career path, and what got you into the role that you’re in today?
Brad: I’m a Project Manager with Elantis. I started out in desktop management, always had an affinity for hardware and process, it’s kind of helped me through my career. Process seems to be my forte. I can usually kind of find efficiencies and find ways to do things better which in turn increases the productivity of the team and myself. So, what led me into project management is a lot of my process affinity and then technology. It led me into the IT field of project management.
Andrea: What sparked your interest in technology? Can you describe when you realized that this was a field that you wanted to pursue?
Brad: It probably would have been when I was a teenager. My mom was building a computer and—this is back in the 286 and 386 days—and she was working with some of her friends to build herself a computer and I got involved. I just took a natural affinity with it and enjoyed it. I picked it up really easily and it just kind of progressed from there. I started doing it for fun and then it moved into more of a career once I got some schooling and stuff under my belt.
Andrea: Did anyone influence you or inspire you to take this career path, either the technology route or into project management? Was there someone in particular?
Brad: Probably my mom, she was always in IT. She always had computers in and around the house and this is when computers were just really starting to come into personal computers stages. So probably my mom. She’s always been in IT and I’ve just kind of followed the same path.
Andrea: That’s great! That legacy lives on. What are you passionate about?
Brad: Family is probably my biggest passion. I like to just hang out and spend some time with family. I have my son, my nieces, and my nephews that I like to hang out with. I’m a big kid at heart. And then obviously, technology. I’ve always been passionate about technology.
Andrea: You’ve got that passion for technology but what do you say you enjoy the most about your career in tech?
Brad: The diversity. Just the different and diverse clients I get to meet on a daily basis really keeps it interesting. Keeps it new and presents new challenges every day for me to overcome. So, it would definitely be the diversity of the people.
Andrea: And no day is the same, right?
Brad: Yeah.
Andrea: Every day is different.
Brad: Exactly.
Andrea: What would you say, looking back, is a moment in your career that you’re most proud of?
Brad: I would probably say it’s definitely some of the process improvement projects that I’ve done over the years. Just the way that they came out a success and the differences I saw in the team and the company after those processes were improved. Definitely my biggest thing I’m proud of is just seeing the difference in the teams after a process improvement project, I would probably say.
Andrea: That would be really rewarding, for sure. And especially given your process background, I can see how that would excite you.
Brad: Yeah.
Andrea: What attracted you to Elantis?
Brad: The culture. I had looked into the culture, I had kind of known some people that were affiliated with Elantis, and they really sold it up in the culture, and it hasn’t been a disappointment since I’ve been here. It’s very family oriented, community oriented, and it’s really great to see.
Andrea: I’m glad that’s been your experience. What first attracted you is what you’ve experienced, as well.
What do you wake up looking forward to, aside from your passion for technology and your passion for family? What gets you excited to come into work every day?
Brad: The challenge. I don’t like idle hands. So, coming in and dealing with those diverse people and having to come up with innovative ways to overcome challenges is really what keeps me going.
Andrea: Well, that brings me to my next question, which is all about challenges because yes, it’s a part of life. It’s a part of what we do here. What challenges have you faced and how do you overcome them? It could be one example or just like something that is your go-to method for handling challenges.
Brad: My go-to method is usually getting everybody in the same room. Get an understanding of what the issues are from all sides and try and look for a path forward. I find that sometimes if you get everybody in the same room, you can get some clarity and some collaboration and work through any problem.
Andrea: I like that strategy. Get everyone on the same page. Speaking of pages, I’m curious if there are any books, websites, or resources that you have found helpful throughout your career.
Brad: I do a lot of LinkedIn Learning to keep me up to date on technology and stuff like that. Definitely the PMI website has helped me with my PM career, but also the vendor sites like HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, all those places have really kept me on top of technology so that I can provide that knowledge to the people I work with and my customers.
Andrea: That’s excellent. It’s continuous learning, right? That’s what we do here.
Brad: Yeah.
Andrea: Well, thank you for sharing a few of those resources.
What would you say are the top three things you have learned in your career?
Brad: Everybody’s different, and you need to approach them differently—is probably the number one thing I would say that I’ve learned over my time in IT. Listening is key to understanding and moving through problems would probably be number two. If you don’t listen to people and you don’t take the time to understand the message they’re trying to convey to you and ask clarifying questions, it makes things extremely difficult. And then just live life as it comes, take one day at a time, and try not to take things personally. That’s probably the top three things I’ve learned in my many, many years in IT.
Andrea: I think that’s great advice, especially coming from a project manager. There’s different people, different problems, different conversations, different ways of handling things. And yes, you just let that roll off your back one problem at a time.
Who is your modern-day hero?
Brad: Probably my kid. In all honesty, he is what drives me. He’s the best of me and his mom and none of the worst, so if I could be like him, it would be a great day. But yeah, I strive to be like him in a lot of ways. His patience…he’s definitely a hero of mine.
Andrea: Aww, that’s excellent. Well, I hope he watches this so that he can see his dad tell him how much he believes in him.
What is next for you in your career?
Brad: That’s a good question. I mean, I kind of like where I am in the project management phase. Potentially maybe PMO leadership in a project management office leadership role in the near future. Not immediate future, but near future. That’s probably my next goal. Get my PMP a little bit more solidified, knowledge, and stuff like that, and then move into a PMO leadership role.
Andrea: It sounds like you have some great goals and I’m so excited to see what you accomplish next at Elantis. I appreciate your time today, so thank you so much for being here.
Brad: Thank you so much.
