James Callaghan once said "A leader must have the courage to act against an expert's advice." Now, while this is accurate for most, leaders of IT professionals know that there are certain facts that should not be eroded if they wish to achieve maximum performance from their IT teams. IT Professionals have the patience of a gnat and the tolerance of a pig you are teaching to sing. Along with these attributes, IT professionals have their ideas about the direction their work should be focused and get annoyed when decisions are made that are outside of their tolerance zones.
To make matters worse for those of us that will manage these IT professionals, each of them has a different "hot button" and acceptable tolerance level that we need to work with. There are several things that management does to screw up the delicate balance of having a happy IT group and having an energy-drink and coffee infused lynch mob that can put your project in jeopardy.
1) IT professionals use tools to power their abilities. Whether it is hardware (server, desktop) or software (development, productivity), IT people need to have somewhat modern equipment and software to enable them to use their skills effectively. Many companies see an investment in hardware and software as a cost in depreciating assets rather than an investment in the productivity and efficiency of the IT staff.
2) Management has a determination to make decisions because "they know the business better". Yes, this may be true, but who knows the technical challenges and facts behind the business. The IT staff. Making a decision without involving them will set up the organization for failure because the decision makers did not understand the full effect of their decision. At least, by involving the IT staff, management can make an educated decision, rather than having to scramble to fix the effects of the decision after it has been made.
3) Why is it that management looks at training as a waste of time, money and resources. Many feel that IT staff can teach themselves. What these manager fail to understand is that every individual learns differently and at different paces. This is one of the benefits of training, since it will encompass most of these learning methods. Some IT staff are not given the time and/or resources to go through material or work in a test environment to teach themselves. Another comment I have heard many times is "if I train them, they will just go to another company". Perhaps, but think about how those IT folks may go looking elsewhere that does provide training to keep them engaged and on top of the technology. Another alternative is having an unskilled workforce maintaining status quo because they have no other choice but to stay. This stalemates the company growth as well as the IT staff career goals.
4) Drop the "business-speak" with the IT staff. The IT folks see right through the use of such business buzzwords to the point that they discount everything being said. As a manager, do not try to talk "tech", especially if that is not an area of expertise for you. IT staff will focus and listen if you just give it to them straight and drop the big words and business-speak.
5) Many IT people work better when left alone and in their own world. Some management understand this, but that leads to a problem. If IT staff is left alone, management has no opportunity to become a leader because they don't understand everything the IT staff is working on or what problems are troubling them. Don't let the IT staff work in a vacuum, but don't spend so much time with them that you suffocate them either. There is a fine balance that you must find with each individual.
I have been on both sides of this chasm. I started out as an IT resource and moved into several management roles. As an IT resource, these are the areas that I saw mistakes being made many times. In a management role, I could use this information to become more than a manager, but to be a leader.
How about you? What other items would you add from an IT resource or management perspective?
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