IT Specialist, People Person (Date of Service: 7 July 1980 - 3 August 2003) Soft Skills for Tough Problems It is 1980 - just after the Iranian Revolution - and time to think more seriously about the future of her family. She quits her successful career at IBM, leaves her husband and two small children in Iran while she goes in search of work in Europe. Less than two months later Goli Khabiri finds work at the IAEA in Vienna. Twenty years on, this inspiring woman is heading the Agency's Information Technology (IT) Customer Service Section. "I took the risk that a promise of a temporary contract at the Agency was firm. I flew back to Iran and within two weeks we gave away or sold most of our belongings. That was hard. Especially the separation of my children from their toys and play things. "We left with only our clothing and a very small amount of money (more was not possible). But with a lot of hope and maybe courage." Her family's first night in Vienna was spent in an empty, unfurnished flat. "At the time I was numb to the cultural and language differences. It was like I had lost feeling to those things. My focus was work. As you'd say in Iran, 'I was trying to pull our Kelim (carpet) out of the waters'." Goli did more than that. She climbed the Agency's IT ranks, typically the turf of men. She is one of three women who fill the 28 professional IT posts, an imbalance possibly related in part to a lack of female applicants. Today Goli is charged with keeping over one thousand 'customers' happy. Responding to the IT needs of the Agency staff and keeping them satisfied is no easy task. "Unlike the general notion that IT is all about technology, I find that it is more about people. It is not enough to have good technical skills. Ideally you need a combination of good business skills, good people skills and good techinical skills. "It is about understanding the needs, about communicating, planning, organizing and delivering a service to people using technology as a means. It is about effective delegation and constructive feedback. " It is hard to imagine life without email or word processing. When Goli arrived in Vienna in 1980, the Agency was contemplating their introduction. "I was in the right place at the right time." She basically set up the structure to support and deliver these services at the IAEA. Among her multiple hats, Goli has overseen the development and delivery of computer training, the Help Desk and managed the services hosted on the networked servers and systems. Ask Goli to talk about her personal achievements and she dismisses them. "I'm fortunate to have worked with a skilled and dedicated team who've worked on projects big and small, and together we have coped with difficult and crisis situations. The ability for me to be a part of that, to facilitate that as a manager, is what I enjoy.” Goli says her job, like her personal life, has always been interesting and challenging, despite some very difficult periods and situations. "I find that as a women one sometimes has to be more innovative to get her point across or an idea forward - frequently there had to be just that much more convincing, just that bit more frustration!" Goli stresses the importance of ongoing management and peer support to keep women on board and see them move up the Agency's ranks. "Those first years can be tough - so far from family, a different culture. Every women needs to find for themselves a balance between career and family." Initiatives such as the Agency's kindergarten for the children of working parents can make a difference, she says. "Although you miss home, the rewards of living in another country are also great. You see and observe different ways of thinking and living. You're growing as a person."