2 Very hard, but doable, steps to becoming a technical thought leader

What is an internal IT thought leader and how can I use it to accelerate my professional growth? One of the best ways to move ahead professionally is to be viewed by those at your company and those generally within your industry as a thought leader. This, of course, is not an easy task but is very doable with the right plan, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to share your hard-earned expertise with others. One advantage of being an IT professional is that you have the opportunity of becoming a thought leader in various areas including the following: In a specific technology, such as AWS, Azure, or Python In the use of a specific vendor’s software package, such as SAP, Microsoft, or Oracle In an IT area, such as datacom, cybersecurity, or AI In IT related practices and methodologies, such as Agile, Project Management, or ITIL In technologies related to a specific industry or profession, such as patient records, equity trading, accounting, manufacturing, sales, or social media If done correctly, from a personal branding and technical expertise perspective, becoming any of the above can help get you promoted, increase your income, get you a seat at the table when technical decisions are being made, provide you the opportunity to speak at professional conferences, get quoted in industry publications, and other similar activities and accolades. The first step in becoming a technical leader is to maximize your technical knowledge and truly become an expert: Get any formal credentials, such as certifications, [...]

By |2024-12-17T15:36:26+00:00December 17th, 2024|
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7 Ways to talk with business users

When my team and I talk with our business counterparts about our software development projects, they seem not to care.  How should I deal with this issue? As much as we love the technologies we use and how they work, most of our business users don’t.  Business users are, generally speaking, looking for solutions to their problems and not necessarily the behind-the-scenes technologies that make it work. That said, you will know you are talking too technically to your business users when: Their eyes glaze over and don’t seem to understand what you are talking about When they don’t ask you any follow-up questions regarding your articulately stated technical explanations When the users say “That sounds great, but what does this mean for me?” When the users just say “Great, thanks” with no added comment and then change the subject. Additional ways to know you’re talking too technically to your users is to: Watch the body language of the person you are talking to for visual cues that they are bored, uninterested, or totally lost Listen to their tone of voice to see if it sounds dismissive and they are trying to end the conversation The habit of speaking to business people too technically can be very career limiting.  From an IT management perspective, it’s great when the people in your group can communicate effectively with those outside of IT. Doing so, has the following benefits: Reducing the chance of miscommunications on an array of topics, including business requirements, resource planning, user [...]

By |2024-11-20T20:13:27+00:00November 20th, 2024|
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6 ways to help influence your manager

My boss is a great person, but sometimes I can’t seem to get his attention and support for the things I think are most important for my department. Any suggestions on how influence my manager in this way? The first thing you must do to gain the support and ear of your manager is to be the best employee you can be. You must: Do quality work Embrace company values Meet your deadlines Play well in the organization’s political sandbox . . . and generally, be a true asset to your company With these things now in place you can influence your manager. That said, when reading these suggestions, note that you should choose your tactics wisely, based on your relationship with your manager, your department’s role within IT, and the culture of your organization in general. When you bring issues to your manager, also provide potential solutions and your suggested recommendation. With a well thought out recommendation in hand, you will very likely be able to correct the issue in the manner you wish. Try to view the world from your manager’s perspective. This will not only help you better understand your manager’s needs and wants, it will also help your professional growth should you wish, in time, to attain your manager’s position. Be transparent with your manager. Be equally willing to tell them about the good news as well as the bad news. This approach of sharing both good and bad news has many advantages including the following: It develops [...]

By |2024-10-22T14:27:38+00:00October 22nd, 2024|
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It’s ok to say “No”

I’m a software development manager who is continually being pushed by my business users to do more and do it faster, better, and cheaper. I can’t keep up with their demands and I think it’s putting my job in peril. Could I please have your advice on how to deal with this issue? This is a great question. My bet, is that because of the nature of IT’s role and the reduction of resources because of general economic conditions that this issue is on the minds of many IT professionals, tech leads, and managers around the country and around the world. I think this issue can be addressed in a number of ways, including the following: Provide transparency to your business users regarding what your group’s current projects and workload are Once transparency has been achieved, work with your users to prioritize your team’s work in a way that makes sense for both them and you Find creative ways to say “No” to your business users in a way that they understand and accept The remainder of this blog post will discuss this third point. Sometimes it’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Learning to say “no” in an acceptable and positive way is one of these cases. Also, as an aside, learning to say “no” effectively is more than a tool for the workplace, it is also a life-skill that can potentially help you in all aspects of your life. This trick to say “no” effectively is to [...]

By |2024-09-10T16:01:40+00:00September 10th, 2024|
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7 key CIO influence strategies

This post was first published in my “Driving IT Productivity” column on CIO.com and has been updated from its original form. As a CIO or other IT executive, the ability to influence other C-Suite executives, vendors, clients, and others is key to both IT’s organizational impact and the CIO’s effectiveness and professional branding. When people think about influencing others, they often think about short term tactics that are sales-like in approach and appearance.  While influence techniques can certainly be used in this way and for this purpose, I would like you to widen your thinking and perspective on influence within the workplace and influence in general. Below are seven key influence strategy types that CIOs and others within IT can use alone or in combination to meet your desired outcome. 1. Strategic Influence: Strategic Influence is taking a long-term holistic approach regarding the type of influence you would like to provide at a future time.  This could be thought leadership in a business, technical or social arena.  It could also be quietly and efficiently building the credibility, connections, skills, knowledge and/or infrastructure for use at a future time. As a CIO, strategic influence can mean building IT’s leadership role in Digital Transformation, Machine Learning, Internet of Things and/or technical and/or industry-specific trends.  This long-term strategic influence not only enhances IT organization clout and value to the organization it serves, it also enhances your professional brand as the business and technical leader. 2. Tactical Influence: Tactical Influence is using specific short-term influenced-based tactics [...]

By |2022-01-02T22:05:06+00:00March 15th, 2022|
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Office Influence: The key ingredient for CIOs to get a seat at the strategy table

This post was first published in my “Driving IT Productivity” column on CIO.com and has been updated from its original form. In the 1980s there was a financial services firm named E. F. Hutton.  Their tag line was “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.”  I never worked at this firm.  I never invested in or through this firm.  I never knew anyone that worked there.  So why do I remember their tag line from so many years ago?  The reason is that I remember as a young man thinking “Wow, they must be really important if everyone is listening to them.”  Yes, this was just a marketing campaign, but it was also a self-fulfilling prophecy they wanted to achieve. What is your self-fulfilling prophecy?  How do you describe your role within the C-Suite and IT’s role within the organization?  If you describe yourself as the leader of the IT team and IT as an internal support function, then that’s how you and your group will be viewed. When I began my professional career, our technology group was named “Data Processing”.  The reason was that in the earlier days of computing, that’s all business computing could provide, the processing and summary of transaction data.  A decade later, as hardware increased in strength and power, software was able to become more sophisticated.  These advances provided the tools to mathematically analyze our processed data in a way that could truly provide senior management with the data to make informed decisions on company strategy and [...]

By |2022-01-02T22:05:19+00:00March 15th, 2022|
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CIO as business partner: 4 prerequisites IT leaders must master

This post was first published in my “Developing IT Leaders” column on CIO.com. IT says it.  Human Resources says it.  All other internal business silos that provide services to the customer-facing business functions say it. They want a seat at the table. They want to be seen and treated as an equal business partner and be involved in helping define the organization’s strategic vision, objectives, values, and decisions. These are the four competencies IT leaders must to demonstrate to earn their seat at the business strategy table. 1. Superior technical execution For IT, consistent, quality daily operations is job #1. Everything else is secondary. As an IT leader, if you cannot meet this requirement, then at best you’ll be disrespected and/or ignored.  At worst, you’ll be replaced. Quality IT can be divided into three generic types of services: operational, on-demand, and project-based. Operational services are the continued availability and uptime of all existing production systems, data communication, email, internet access, and all other related services. On-demand services are the help desk, service desk, and other reactive IT functions that serve those outside of IT itself. Project-based services, as the name suggests, are all planned tasks with specifically defined outcomes, such as major software upgrades, new system implementations, and process reengineering efforts. IT’s failure in any one of these three service areas, degrades the credibility of the IT leader responsible for that area as well as the CIO and the overall reputation of IT within the organization because those outside of IT don’t [...]

By |2022-03-04T14:25:10+00:00March 4th, 2022|
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Office Influence: The Key Ingredient for CIOs to Get a Seat at the Strategy Table

Description: Enhancing your influential presence gives you the organizational clout needed to get you a seat at the business strategy table.  Understanding the key influence concepts of influence factors or influence currencies allows you to maximize the value of your clout and status. Blog text: In the 1980s there was a financial services firm named E. F. Hutton.  Their tag line was “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.”  I never worked at this firm.  I never invested in or through this firm.  I never knew anyone that worked there.  So why do I remember their tag line from so many years ago?  The reason is that I remember as a young man thinking “Wow, they must be really important if everyone is listening to them.”  Yes, this was just a marketing campaign, but it was also a self-fulfilling prophecy they wanted to achieve. What is your self-fulfilling prophecy?  How do you describe your role within the C-Suite and IT’s role within the organization?  If you describe yourself as the leader of the IT team and IT as an internal support function, then that’s how you and your group will be viewed. When I began my professional career, our technology group was named “Data Processing”.  The reason was that in the earlier days of computing, that’s all business computing could provide, the processing and summary of transaction data.  A decade later, as hardware increased in strength and power, software was able to become more sophisticated.  These advances provided the tools to mathematically [...]

By |2020-09-22T02:07:42+00:00July 17th, 2020|
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9 IT Action/Reaction Office Influencer Techniques – Part 2

My last blog described the first four action/reaction influence techniques that IT professionals can use when trying to influence their business partners or others with the IT organization.  This week’s blog discusses the remaining five techniques. 5. Doing Tasks You Don’t Like  As a IT manager or executive, if you do all the fun stuff and leave the important but uninteresting or dangerous tasks to others, many issues will arise, including: Your team will resent you. Your staff will be unwilling to perform unwanted tasks. Your team’s motivation will be reduced, resulting in lower productivity and increased attrition. Your action of sharing the uninteresting or dangerous tasks has the reaction of: Showing people you are a team player, thus, increasing their willingness to follow your instruction. Causing your team (and others) to perform these tasks more willingly because they know you won’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. 6. Taking Logistical Control Taking logistical control is a negotiation trick that employs both influence and team-building-based concepts. From an influence perspective, being proactive and organizing the group’s logistical needs positions you to take a leadership role in the overall negotiation process. From a team-building perspective, once you have taken a leadership role and the group’s culture is formed, modifying that culture becomes very difficult, thus cementing your role as the overall negotiation leader. Continuing with the negotiation example, if you take care of the negotiation’s logistics, such as booking the conference room, sending out the meeting invitations, and ordering lunch, the [...]

By |2020-03-18T14:53:31+00:00May 20th, 2020|
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9 IT Action/Reaction Office Influencer Techniques – Part 1

One of my favorite ways to influence others is to perform a task that needs to be done anyway and to do it a manner that causes the other person to react in a specific way. For example, if a Project Manager needs a project stakeholder to respond to emails more quickly, The Project Manger should respond to their emails quickly with the hope that they will return the favor. I worked with a an IT executive who took two or three days to respond to my emails. This was problematic because I was under a tight deadline and could not move forward without the executive’s input on certain aspects of the project. In an attempt to speed up his replies, I would answer his messages within five or ten minutes. Because I always replied to his email messages right away, over time, he felt guilty that he did not do the same for me. As a result of this guilt, he began to return my email messages as soon as they arrived. Truth be told, this story falls under the category of: If you can’t be smart, be lucky. Initially, I started responding to his emails so quickly because I thought he would email back right away if I could catch him while he was still working on email. It wasn’t until weeks later that he realized his change was an influence-based reaction to my action. I got the result I wanted, but not for the reason I expected. I had no [...]

By |2020-03-18T14:53:23+00:00May 13th, 2020|
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