IT directors have a unique overview of the strategy and
business processes that drive their organisation they know how to
create business value through innovation and they are masters at
dealing effectively with organisational change.
So what does it take to get their peers in the business to
recognise and value their contribution? That is the core question
addressed in a new series of relationship management workshops for
IT directors. They are being run by the Computer Weekly 500 Club in
partnership with development consultancy Management Arts, and will
start on 30 January 2007.
"IT directors need to adopt different approaches to
relationships, depending on whether they are influencing their
business peers, persuading their internal IT staff, or interfacing
with their external suppliers," said Shirley Redpath, principal of
Management Arts, who will be facilitating the workshops.
She added that the half-day workshops, which can be combined
with one-on-one coaching sessions, are aimed at focusing IT
directors on building effective relationships with the individuals
who make an impact on the organisation.
"IT directors have a unique set of skills and insights," said
Redpath. "We will be working with small groups of IT directors from
the user community to identify how they can ensure that they
leverage these skills effectively within the business."
Computer Weekly managing editor John Riley, who set up the 500
Club in 1993, said, "The success of the 500 Club has demonstrated
the value to IT directors of networking within a peer group
community.
"We are now building on this, with the help of our members,
through a series of focused, facilitated, discussion workshops to
demonstrate that it is within each individual to convince their
business peers that they have a rightful place at the top
table.
"IT directors are the people who bring innovation into their
organisations, make it happen and make change work - so it is a
paradox that they are often regarded as being on the wrong side of
the fence.
"But it is wrong to assume that it is the business that is out
of step - IT directors themselves have a role to play in changing
those perceptions.
"We often encounter a climate of negativity in this area, so we
put our heads together with 500 Club IT director members to turn
the issues on their head and come up with a positive and fresh
approach to this age-old issue."
The workshops aim to help IT directors conduct an audit of their
interpersonal relationships, with a view to enabling better
business value. This will help map and identify the preconditions
and the practice of creating business value from IT.
In recent months headhunters and developmental consultants have
called for a better understanding by IT directors of how to bridge
the communications gap.
Headhunter Simon La Fosse is director of the CIO practice at
recruitment firm Harvey Nash. Speaking at the City IT conference in
November, he said IT directors should double the amount they spend
on interpersonal skills training and more effort is needed to
address the communications gap between CIOs, their teams and the
wider business.
"In many firms, there is still too little empathy shown by IT
towards end-users," he said.
For more information, e-mail Georgina Tucker at Computer
Weekly
georgina.tucker@rbi.co.uk
www.managementarts.co.uk