Not Alone...

I was reviewing some materials on IT Leadership and training opportunities and ran across a training entitled: “Meeting the Global IT Challenge” Part of the description of the content is:--“A growing body of research indicates that executives and managers often perceive that IT investments are not as efficient or effective as they could be, and IT professionals need to enhance their abilities to add value by “providing relevant business solutions.””

While the comment about Exec’s not perceiving value in some IT projects came as nothing new, the comment about IT professionals following it did. The point is that they did NOT say just CIO’s or IT Director’s or even IT Manager’s need to enhance….the comment was “IT professionals need to enhance their abilities to add value…” It’s not a one man show in that the CIO or IT Manager just isn’t looked upon as the Holy Grail any longer….the entire TEAM is expected to “add value,” specifically by providing relevant business solutions.

Perhaps I’m fond of the comment because it is exactly how I feel and somewhat to the point of other Bloggings I’ve posted here. But, the fact remains, others are espousing it too! IT must provide relevant business value…it is expected and even demanded. IT employees if they hope to be successful in the field must embrace this change and develop skills that provide that value. Gone are the days when you could just understand the technology and get it work… Now the expectation is that IT employees (not just IT Management) understand the technology and also understand the business and how to provide technology solutions to move the business forward.
It’s a thought process. It’s a maturity and growth process that frankly was inevitable. Just as more and more Conservation employees are understanding technology better and demanding its implementation…..we too as IT employees should grow and understand more about the business of Conservation and in doing that, we will be better positioned to provide value.

I believe we recognized this trend several years ago with the advent of the FCS positions. The thinking with those folks was that they would understanding technology and yet dig deeper into the work that Conservation was doing. As a result, we could provide recommendations/solutions to help them accomplish their work. So at this point, it is apparent that the entire IT GROUP must more closely model that scenario than what is being done currently. Not one aspect of IT is excluded from this need to grow and mature into more integration with the business of Conservation.

The creation of the BA positions recently also point towards this need to become more “in tune” with the business side. We’re making progress and it has been slower that I would prefer….but moving is good and moving forward is better….I’m committed to continuing to find ways to help grow staff towards being the type of IT employee that Conservation needs….and deserves.

You in?

TAFN