Managing IT Workers
September 15, 2009 by Raj Sheelvant
In CIO.com article titled “The Unspoken Truth About Managing Geeks” Jeff Ello explains on how to manage IT workers. Jeff Ello is a veteran of the IT and CG industries, currently managing IT for the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and he paint a different picture of ways to manage IT department. He says that the amount of respect an IT pro pays someone is a measure of how tolerable that person is when it comes to getting things done, including the elegance and practicality of his solutions and suggestions. IT pros always and without fail quietly self-organize around those who make the work easier, while shunning those who make the work harder, independent of the organizational chart. In other words, the best way to manage IT workers is to enable them to find creative solution with minimal supervision.
He also writes “Good IT pros are not anti-bureaucracy, as many observers think. They are anti-stupidity. The difference is both subjective and subtle. Good IT pros, whether they are expected to or not, have to operate and make decisions with little supervision. So when the rules are loose and logical and supervision is results-oriented, supportive and helpful to the process, IT pros are loyal, open, engaged and downright sociable. Arbitrary or micro-management, illogical decisions, inconsistent policies, the creation of unnecessary work and exclusionary practices will elicit a quiet, subversive, almost vicious attitude from otherwise excellent IT staff. ”
Jeff Ello challenges the management myth that IT professions are “smart and creative, but they are also egocentric, antisocial, managerially and business-challenged, victim-prone, bullheaded and credit-whoring.” To overcome stereotypes about IT, he says that other business organizations within a company need to be reminded that
- IT wants to help me.
- I should keep an open mind.
- IT is not my personal tech adviser, nor is my work computer my personal computer.
- IT people have lives and other interests.
Ello writes that “What IT pros want in a manager is a technical sounding board and a source of general direction. Leadership and technical competence are qualities to look for in every member of the team. If you need someone to keep track of where projects are, file paperwork, produce reports and do customer relations, hire some assistants for a lot less money.”
Jeff Ello hits the nail in the head with a detailed analysis on how to manage IT department. But I think he misses one big point. Management is a two way process. IT Pros need to understand how IT can enable business and its strategy. We need to learn ‘their’ language. We have to learn to translate technical language to business language. At least we should try to meet the business community half way. Saying “Twitter is cool… Lets implementing it” will not cut it. We need to justify. If Wally can do it, we can too 
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