Managing Technology

Some IT Leadership Principles for CEO's & Business Leaders

I updated this post from awhile ago.  The quick list of points is still at the beginning with some more detailed notes below.

I recently was asked to participate on a panel of technology leaders presenting to a group of CEOs.  As I only had 10 minutes to give some advice and tips on how to effectively leverage technology, I did my best to pare down my thoughts to a short set of principles:

• First People – Then Process – Then Technology
• Never abdicate your responsibility for your company’s technology
• Have a solid, documented IT strategy
• Practice Rhythm of Review
• Know your total cost of IT
• Strive for simplicity
• Proactively manage security and risk
• Be a very tough, but very fair customer
• Know ALL your “IT people” – treat them as one team
• You get what you pay for – invest wisely and as part of a plan
• Be wary of tech trends

Readers' thoughts and input on this list are welcome as we plan to continually refine it over time.

Workshop Follow-Up - GE Leadership Values in Action - Washginton DC

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our first public offering of this workshop Hosted by American Office at the impressive Herman Miller showroom in Washington, DC.  Below, attendees can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the workshop at our protected file site. 

Workshop Materials for Download

The information is protected with the password distributed at the meeting (found on the bottom of the Team Assessment Tool).

Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above).  You can also e-mail me directly (e-mail link to the left) with follow up questions if you'd prefer.

I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent discussion and appreciate your active participation in the session.  Don't forget to do your quick and easy follow up homework!

The GE Leadership Values In Action - at the John Deere Project Management Forum

Deere PM Forum participants:  below you can find a link to download the presentation slides and other materials from the February 2010 workshop at our protected file site.  The post is protected with the password distributed at the meeting.

Workshop Materials for Download

Feel free to use this site to make any comments or ask follow up questions for continued group discussion under this blog entry or in the password protected area (link above).  You can also e-mail me directly (e-mail link to the left) with follow up questions if you'd prefer.

Thanks for your participation in the session!

Have to give that uncomfortable bad performance review? Let your employee talk first.

No matter how experienced you are as a manager it's never fun to give a negative review to an employee, much less fire someone.

I recently gave some advice to a colleague who was lamenting going into a performance review for one of his people who was delivering far below expectations.  It was at the point where if major improvements weren't made soon he would have to be fired.  My approach helped and he just e-mailed me saying the discussion went much better than expected, so I thought I'd share the leadership tip.

When you sit down face to face with that problem employee for the dreaded bad review, before you go into your documented laundry list of their problems, weaknesses, and failings - let them talk first. 

There's a good chance they know that at least some bad news is coming and they'll feel better if they get a chance to articulate the problems right up front in their own words.  An intro like "Bill, before I go into the details of this review, why don't you tell me how you think you've performed over the past X months" is a great way to kick off this session. 

It will give your employee a bit of empowerment during an uncomfortable situation and may also give you some examples you can refer to later where you know they already agree with your assessment.  If you have a formal document with your feedback and scores in writing, turn it over face down on the table during this first part of the chat.  Then, when it's your turn to talk you can show the ugly details after the ice has been broken a bit.

Great Stuff - 3 Technology Leadership Development Quick Hits

Over the years as I've worked with various CIOs, CTOs, and other executives there has been consistent agreement on a great need for better Leadership Development in companies.  This is especially true for technology managers as they often possess solid technical skills, but have had much less if any of their training and education time devoted to leadership. 

In the current economy more than ever strong leadership is needed, yet unfortunately many firms can't afford the time and investment to develop a comprehensive leadership curriculum. 

In addition to the many free tools and references on this evolving blog, I've put together a list of some recommended quick hits for leadership development.  The idea is to help your company get some tactical “points on the board” without the overhead of developing an entire leadership competency structure. 

The first, in the spirit of shameless self-promotion, is my own offering.  The others are from fellow highly experienced consultants who I trust.

1 – Visular (Tom Wolf)  - The GE Leadership Values in Action

Download Visular-Workshop_Profile-GE_Leadership_Vaules_in_Action-v04web

This is a quick session on what I still consider THE best practice in company leadership.  Many of us former GE folks take it for granted, but it’s very useful for managers who haven’t lived through GE during the Jack Welch era.  I’ve had great feedback on this session and would love to deliver it to your team.

2 – Strelmark (Hilary Fordwich) - Career Critical: Business Development Boot Camps for IT Execs

Hilary is phenomenal at teaching technical teams the key soft or “human engineering” skills that the most successful business leaders need to master.  Her sessions are motivational, tactical and practical.   I’ve seen Hilary in action on two occasions so far and highly recommend her boot camps to help your team develop critical skills that are often lacking in the technology arena.  Her sessions include case studies; tips to build lasting, successful, beneficial business relationships; and human relationship truths to apply for gaining & retaining clients & employees in every situation.  Her list of clients and testimonials is more than impressive.

3  - The R Group (Myron Radio) - TriMetrix Leadership Style Assessment & Coaching

Myron’s firm is certified to deliver one of the better leadership style & coaching assessments I’ve come across.  Many of us have been through these types of exercises in our careers (Myers Briggs, leadership evaluations, etc.).  TriMetrix is very fast & easy to complete and provides a wealth of valuable assessment feedback beyond a typical behavioral tool.  It looks at three distinct views of an individual to get a more complete picture of “How”, “Why” and “What” they will do on the job.  Myron had me take the on-line test and gave me the coaching report personally and I was very impressed at the many helpful insights I gained.

All these are proven, quick, affordable offerings that can have a big impact on your existing leadership team and are also valuable for developing future leaders.

Feel free to contact me for more details, ballpark costs, testimonials, and direct referrals if you have any interest.

A quick Team Assessment Tool

Attached to this post is a tool I designed to quickly assess the strength of any team I'm managing.  As a leader there is nothing more important to your success than building up a winning team.

Download Visular-Team_Assessment_Tool_v02

This tool is strongly influced by the GE leadership approach to managing people - focusing on A players and exiting C players.  It is NOT a substitute for a full employee management process (role documents, goal setting, performance reviews, merit-based bonuses, etc.).  Instructions for using the tool are included in the file.

Back to Basics - Meeting Agendas (and more importantly - Objectives)

When you think of the salary (or hourly rate) of every person sitting in a meeting, even the smallest are quite expensive to any organization.  Why is it then that so many meetings happen with no stated objectives or even a simple written agenda?

Attached is my basic meeting agenda format that I try to use for all my meetings.  Many of my colleagues have found this template valuable.  Feel free to customize it as necessary for your needs.

Download Visular-Meeting_Agenda_Template_v03

The most critical elements for an effective meeting are clear, documented objectives, a detailed, timed agenda, and the right attendees in the room.  I also find it helpful to identify the key inputs required in advance so you're not all sitting around saying, "why didn't anyone bring the sales figures?".

Objectives - Many people will jump to preparing an agenda without first thinking through the actual objectives of the meeting.  This can lead to a meeting that finishes on time, but doesn't accomplish what the owner wants to get done.  Worse, participants can end up sabotaging the meeting because they have their own objectives that are different from yours.  The very worst cases end up in a complete breakdown with arguments because there is no group buy-in to just what you're all doing there. 

Back to Basics - Action Items 101

Attached is a simple template for capturing action items that I've honed over the years while trying to balance diligence with simplicity.  Several of my clients and managers have found this helpful so I thought I'd share it along with some thoughts on action item management.

Download Visular-Action_Item_tool_v05

The most critical elements for effectively managing action items are:  the action item itself being clear, one accountable owner, a due date and regular follow-up.  This may seem like complete common sense and it has become pretty normal for people to capture action items at the end of most meetings, but so often this fundamental management technique is improperly done rendering it useless or worse - driving bad behaviors. 

The GE Leadership Values In Action - at the Leadership Breakfast in Reston

Below you can find a link to download both the presentation slides and the Visular Team Assessment tool from the December 2008 discussion at our Wordpress site.  The post is protected with the password distributed at the meeting.

Presentation Materials for Download

Thanks for your participation in the discussion.  Feel free to make any comments for continued group discussion under this blog entry.