IT needs to stand up for itself in the business, says
Margaret Smith
We all know the old chat-up line, “My wife/husband doesn’t
understand me”. Well it is used in the world of business too.
I have lost count of the number of times I have heard IT people
say that the rest of the business community doesn’t understand them
or even that the developer doesn’t understand the operations guys
and vice versa.
It always irritates me and makes me want to say “grow up and
handle yourself differently”. It is also a fact that it happens at
all levels in the IT organisation and is not just a trait of
management levels.
People work not only to be paid but also to feel satisfaction in
what they do and to feel that they are giving the organisation
value for money. Karl Marx had this sussed out years ago.
Alleviating the problem
Management always talks about how the key to success is morale
and motivation but does little to alleviate the problem.
I know of quite a few IT people who are hurt (sorry to sound
touchy feely but they do feel hurt) by the attitude of others to
their performance in the business. Everyone goes to work to do a
good job so how come their efforts and results are not
recognised?
There are a number of reasons for this attitude. The buck always
has to stop somewhere and it is easy to blame someone else less
well versed in the art of defending themselves.
It is also true that IT costs most organisations a hefty whack
and occasional mistakes can be costly.
But I believe the most critical reason is that IT has not done
enough to educate the business community (or other parts of IT)
about the processes, procedures and the art of the possible.
I know of one business leader, for example, who demanded that a
knotty technical problem be solved within the next hour or else.
This did little for morale and little for the credibility of the
business leader.
If the business leader had understood how things work they may
have been more supportive and helpful.
Developing self esteem
Every discipline within an organisation has their own special
way of operating and their own way of protecting and developing
their self esteem.
IT seems to enjoy casting itself as the whipping boy for a
company rather than learning from other business units.
The sales guys have worked out that they get so many rejections
from the customer or potential customer that they have to have a
way of working that protects them from getting depressed. This
modus operandi has often surfaced as blag and boast.
However, they do have a point in that no one else is going to
protect their reputation and standing in the company so they have
to do it for themselves.
Maybe IT people are just too sensitive and need to develop their
own way of operating, which includes a mixture of self-defence and
proactive education for their biggest critics.
IT continues to be instrumental in making businesses even more
profitable and IT people should be proud of being part of the
success story.
CV: Margaret Smith
Margaret Smith advises business and government on IT and skills
issues. Formerly chief executive of CIO Connect, she was also CIO
at Legal & General. She has been a non-executive director of
insurance standards body Origo Services and sat on the UK Cabinet
Office Portal Board.