Leadership for IT Managers

Tomorrow I'm giving a presentation to the New Jersey Area regional meeting of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) on "Leadership Principles for Technology Managers."

Topics I'll address include:

• What Leadership is Not (hint: it's not about being a slave to your Blackberry, pager, IM, and SMS)
• What Leadership Is:
  • Vision:  Having one that is credible, tangible, and  distinct
  • And the creating the environment that lets people actually get there (hint:  it's not about command and control)
  • Keeping your eye ceaselessly on the future
• Communication, which means:
  • Being fluent in the language of finance, which is what the business world speaks
  • Managing expectations, and tamping down unrealistic hopes
  • Avoiding the trap of being caught up in conversations about "governance"—deliver results, not reports, and avoid the inward focus governance assumes
  • Talk about problems solved, not technology.  And above all
  • Be Brief!
• Why Change is the Hardest Challenge of all
  • With a nod to Machiavelli:

    “There is nothing more difficult to carry out, or more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by an old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by a new order. This arises partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.”

  And I'll close by differentiating between "implementers," "managers," and "leaders."

This graphic uses the metaphor of A City:

• Implementers worry about "capability:"  They're focused on the pavement.
• Managers worry about "viability:"  They're focused on the layout of the street grid.
• Leaders worry about "culture:"  They're focused on The Vision For The City.

Implementers and Managers have to agree on Requirements:  Which and How

Managers and Leaders have to agree on Objectives:  When and Why

And in the process of managing change, Leaders focus on The Market, and what signals it's giving out about the need for change, while Managers focus on the Leaders.