The Evolution...

A long, long time ago in a faraway place, I was attending College with course work in Evolution. Evolution has always been a fascinating subject to me and certainly one in which can be hotly debated. Aside from my Religious convictions, I believe evolution is a viable process. While we could debate as to scope and magnitude of any evolution process, I’d like to focus on the evolution of the MDC IT worker in particular here.

Dictionary.com defines evolution as: “any process of formation or growth; development” Hmmm, see any relationship to the field we are in? There are few fields of work that are changing any faster than Technology itself. I’ve wondered at times, is technology a result of change or is change a result of technology…..while both views may be accurate; I tend to lean towards the latter. I don’t believe anyone can dispel that change is inevitable, and many people are demonstratively resistant to change. Now can you imagine that if that change is accelerated, through rapid technological advances….how that process or result will be accepted…? That I believe is in part what we are facing with as Conservation Information Technology workers.

That change is part of the attraction for many of us, but we must also recognize that it also serves as a reason for reluctance or resistance of some. Humans tend to be drawn into situations where they are most comfortable, we’ve all heard it stated many times….”in my (the) comfort zone.” So as workers of change or even harbingers, we will encounter resistance and we must anticipate it (expect it). As a result we must put processes in place to help mitigate those obstacles. We should PLAN for it.

How do we do that...Education is a key ingredient in my mind. We (humans) tend to shy away or be un-accepting of the unknown, (not everyone, but many). So we need to help make the unknown or unfamiliar more familiar. The technology (change) should be presented in an understandable (geared towards your audience) way. It’s part of our job to make sense of the Technology and how it can and will be used by our customers. In addition we need to be evaluating and pursuing technology that FITS into our Organization. Few people embrace change strictly for the sake of change. Good research, sound technology, exhaustive planning, and adequate education are all key components towards successful implementation of any technology. That is part of our job….and frankly we need to do a better job of it.

Evolution should also be an integral part of whom and what we are as IT workers. Due to the very nature of our business, we too should be embracing that change and positioning ourselves also. That means staying abreast of the latest technology…what adds value to Conservation---not the latest gadget, BUT what truly adds value. That means we need to understand our customers work/thinking, our line of business….we need to grow ourselves as technology itself grows. Are you staying current? When was the last time YOU (not suggested by your Supervisor) sought out technical training? When was the last time you observed a technology while away from work…and thought…hmmm we could use or adapt this to work for Conservation…?

We want and need dedicated IT workers that understand IT and Conservation...does part of your evolutionary process include adding that value back to the work place?