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 Leadership
Skills are critical to IT Professionals
December 14, 2001
We, as IT Professionals, often consider technical skills to be
the key overwhelming component of professional success. While technical
skills are very important, a recently published research article
by Surrex Solutions Corporation stated, "HR
managers tend to screen candidates for hard, technical skills while
CIO's may put even more value on "soft skills" such as communications
and patience." During these difficult times, leadership skills,
which include communications and patience, become critical.
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Those IT professionals who are capable of stepping up and demonstrating
leadership may strengthen their current position and open up new
doors. The dot-com shakeout, general weakness in the economy, war,
anxiety and fear create the need for leadership even in the purest
technical environments. An opportunity is being created for those
professionals, especially senior management, to use their leadership
skills to help themselves, co-workers and staff.
"Leadership
is not some innate passively acquired skill that sits dormant in
the gene pool waiting for the next lucky host."
The leader must provide distinct contrast to the "woe is me" attitude,
and recognize the psychology of the times which may, quite often,
be in distinct contrast to reality. Fundamentally the IT services
sector remains on solid ground. Our research indicates that the
turn around is coming. Use free time to locate interesting work,
create and promote new challenges, stay positive, watch your words
and maintain positive habits. Together, leaders, at every level,
are the key component to turning around our fundamentally strong
IT Sector.
Bottom line: Leadership is not some innate passively acquired
skill that sits dormant in the gene pool waiting for the next lucky
host. It needs to be worked at, studied and developed.
A recent EDITORIAL by Donna Fowler and Tim
Van Slambrouck, at MindWalk Consulting, LLC gets us moving
down the path of becoming an "Authentic Leader".
OPENNESS: The Foundation of Authentic Leadership
In this issue, we thought we would jump right into the deep end,
headfirst, and take on the subject of AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP. We chose
leadership, because in our work, whether it be with senior executives
in large organizations, or "single-shingle" self-employed small
business owners, this much written about topic consistently comes
up as a common thread.
We contend that the characteristics of openness are the foundation
of authentic leadership, and when integrated, allow all the other
leadership traits like vision, strategic thinking, execution, catalyzing
action, and others, to flourish.
In his 1994 book, "Beyond Entrepreneurship", James Collins describes
leadership as "the ability to articulate a vision and catalyze action
around it". Intellectually, we get it. This is not rocket science.
Simple, yes...Easy, no.
If we all can easily grasp and understand this concept of leadership,
and if we simply followed the powerful Nike paradigm of "Just do
it!" why is it that so many CEOs, managers, and business owners
have yet to find themselves as successful as they would like?
Because, as the old saying goes - "The devil is in the details".
Implementation is where it all breaks down. This is where coaching
can help.
In the thousand-and-one "moments of truth" that come every day,
how does one demonstrate the skills and abilities of a leader? It
is our belief that the key capacities of a leader can be thought
of as "openness" in the following way:
Openness to reality - not denying
As a leader, how committed are you to the value of truth-telling?
How willing are your people to tell the truth about what is really
going on? How often have your projects been delayed, repeatedly,
and yet when planning another project, no additional time for delays
gets built into the schedule? When new information arrives, is it
integrated into plans and schedules, or do you just keep going?
Openness to change - not resisting
It is our deep belief that any sustainable organizational transformation
starts with and is maintained by effective personal change. How
open are you to new and different perspectives? How easy is it to
give up a course of action you have committed to, even when the
results are not there? How easy is it for you to be the one to change,
rather than believing that if others or circumstances would change,
things would work?
Openness to being in the unknown - not controlling
It is human nature to want to have power over our experience -
to control events and outcomes. How willing are you as a leader
to truly delegate authority and responsibility? Do you have faith
in the judgement and skills of your teams? Do you allow for the
creativity of your people to manifest? Can you tolerate, equally,
the subsequent failures and successes inherent to that freedom of
expression? How often do you begin a sentence with, "it should,"
"they should," or "he or she should."
To investigate your own level of openness as a practice, we invite
you to consider these questions and offer our support in your exploration.
We suggest that as a leader, entrepreneur, or senior manager,
every aspect of your activities, from each conversation you hold,
to every single action you take demonstrates your leadership capacity
and has an impact on the culture and success of your organization.
Leadership development coaching is about bringing awareness to
how our clients are really showing up today. For example, as a leader,
how is he/she denying, resisting or controlling. And then with new
practices, to integrate into ourselves the the behaviors of openness
to change, to seeing reality as it is, and to being in the unknown
with grace.
Copyright © 2001, all rights reserved.
Please feel free to copy or distribute PRACTICES along with this
copyright notice and information about contacting the author(s).
The authors are: Donna Fowler and Tim Van Slambrouck, Mindwalk Consulting,
LLC. Visit their website at www.Mindwalk.net,
or contact them at (650) 344-4144.
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