Interview with Matt Brooks: New IMLP Program Manager

Matt Brooks recently took over as the new IMLP program manager and is finalizing preparations for our onboarding of all the new IMLP's this January in Detroit, Michigan. We recently had an interview with Matt to learn a little more about himself and his intentions for the IMLP.

Matt Brooks (IMLP Program Manager)1. What made you eager to become the IMLP Program Manager?

I’ve always been connected with the IMLP since I was on program. After I graduated, I started doing Bootcamp and Software Development Life Cycle reviews. I also participated in recruiting events and served as an ambassador for recruiting IMLP’s into IT Corporate Audit Staff (CAS). I became the program champion at GE Power and Water after IT CAS, serving as a mentor, helping with rotations, and guiding the interns. My involvement with IMLP the past 2 years has been more of a side job, so when the IMLP Program Manager position opened, I thought “What a great avenue to continue down my global learning path and make a full-time job out of my passion for the IMLP!” This opportunity will provide a great way to work with all the IMLP’s from every business and provide a great transition into a new learning environment while remaining in IT.

2. What future plans do you have for the IMLP?

 We will be looking a lot at our recruiting strategy. It’s not just about recruiting at the schools, but also the importance of branding. Over the next couple of years we are looking into not only branding IMLP’s externally with schools, but also internally with CIO’s, IT CAS, and other leaders. We want the IMLP to be seen as a premiere leadership program within GE; to be recognized as the pipeline for top leadership positions. That’s not saying people don’t think the IMLP is great today, but it has more of a reputation for being a great development program. We need people to realize it’s a great IT leadership feeder program as well. We will also be conducting curriculum reviews. We've had some implementations of new material to our coursework, but we will continuously look and see if we are teaching the appropriate items. This won’t just occur between me at Corporate; we will be talking to CIO’s, business representatives, and IMLP’s. It will be a very inclusive analysis to introduce valuable new content into the program and to eliminate any unnecessary content.

The other side of the curriculum refresh is a look into how we distribute the material. There are four main channels in use today: 1) face-to-face (i.e. in person with an instructor) 2) distance learning (i.e. still led by an instructor, but the participants connect virtually) 3) partial distance learning (i.e. limited interaction with an instructor virtually, but primarily self-paced training) 4) self-paced (i.e. the student signs up and takes a course at his/her leisure). With an appropriate balance, we can offer more learning opportunities to the students while on program without sacrificing the opportunities to be face-to-face with instructors and classmates. I’m also looking at making technical certifications more easily available to IMLPs that elect to go through the courses and get certified in a particular area. This is already something that people can do, but just may not know how!

 3. How did IMLP impact your career?

The IMLP fundamentally shaped my career path. If it weren’t for IMLP, I wouldn't have had nearly as much exposure to IT leaders and different parts of the business, such as quality, manufacturing, marketing, and infrastructure. If I had taken a direct hire role, I wouldn't have been able to see all those things because you end up taking 1 role for 18 months to 2 years. Instead, IMLP allowed me to see various areas in small chunks and then I was able to choose the area I wanted to join full-time after, which is a big draw for the program in general.

 4. What advice do you have for new and current IMLP’s?

For new IMLP’s: be curious. Look around different parts of the business. There is no right or wrong choice; you want to look for new experiences with each rotation. Look to work with different technologies and different leaders; expand your network. Find what you may like, and what you may not like to do in the long term. For current IMLP, it’s pretty much the same advice, but experiment with different committees. You are able to gain exposure to various leadership and technologies when you are on program.  The global and local business committees are opportunities to stand out from your peers in leaderships’ eyes. This is the prime time to get involved. Don’t be afraid to raise questions or concerns to business representatives and committees, because the program evolves based upon IMLP's ideas for improvement.

 5. What qualities are you looking for in potential IMLP’s?

I’ve been the lead recruiter for IMLP at Cornell for 2 cycles now. It’s not just about whether you can program and have done cool projects, even though those are important;  but, we are looking to see if you are interested in being a leader. Are you interested in looking at a business problem and discovering the proper process, before even thinking about IT. We are looking for people to be the glue to hold all the various processes and functions together. IMLPs have to learn the various business worlds and translate opportunities effectively. That’s the coolest part of the job, though: forming bridges between functions to grow and satisfy our external customers and internal business partners.

 6. If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

I would have one really huge dinner with everyone currently on program. We’d be pulling together 200 IMLP’s from around the world who have gone through 200 different life paths and live in different locations among different cultures. I would love to spend time with that size of a group of people with so many diverse backgrounds!