Do more with less. Or, do less with more? An intro to IT Operations Leadership.

Cliché No. 1:  "Do more with less." A phrase many are tired of hearing and repeating.  It is a cop-out for some; a way to move blame from a known failure to plan to the organization as a whole, or even the economy.

Cliché No. 2:  "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." This is both the precursor and successor to "do more with less." It is the natural byproduct of the ‘do more with less’ ideology espoused by management throughout many organizations.

Cliché No. 3:  "Work smarter, not harder." Another byproduct of  doing more with less, and failing to plan. There are always improvements which can be made. However, if leadership is unable to figure out a plan, chances are they won't be able to figure out how to work smarter.

Over time these ideas merge into the culture of the organization and leave morale in a desperate state.  So, how does an employee at any level go about changing the culture of the organization?  How does a leader take the bull by the horns and drive improvements and success?

It can be difficult for some to capitalize on change when priorities are contended or unknown, and leadership has limited vision, if any.  The identification of these problems are usually easy to document. Whereas, coaching leadership and changing a culture can be difficult.

This article is the opening statement to a series of short writings, which will dive into leadership ideals and the practice of continuous improvement in IT Operations and Engineering environments.  Some of the topics covered will include:

• Identifying your workplace culture, its values and qualities. Are time and persistence the only ways to change the culture? Will planning suffice?
• The importance of having, developing, and communicating a Vision. How to develop a vision, and then how do lead your organization to achieve stated vision... Aka, planning.
• Critical thought and project planning for improved operations. To improve operations, one must perform an honest analysis of the data and consider the associated risk/s.  Where there is no data, find it - It's there.
• The implications of accountability without metrics (proof).
• The need for employee development. How to incentivize exceptional work ethic, dedication, loyalty, and trust. How to use those to achieve great things. Happiness can be contagious.
• The problems with matrix based organizations. And, how to apply an agile methodology to an Operations environment. And, all while maintaining functional boundaries.

These writings will draw from personal experiences with small and large companies throughout both the private and public sectors.  They are hoped to evoke thought, and to develop creative solutions to today's most common leadership missteps.

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A little about the author... me.

I began my career in the IT arena first as a systems administrator and then as a network engineer. Approximately 8 years ago, after being a lead engineer, I made the decision to make a slight career change and took the management route. My program manager (one of the good ones from General Dynamics) at the time gave me a book by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, “The Leadership Challenge.”  This was my intro into formally leading successful organizations.

(I recommend this book to everyone.  One of the key take-aways, "The Five practices of exemplary leaders."  Google it... https://www.meridianleadershipinstitute.com/the-five-practices.php )

Having had good and bad leaders throughout my career, I found enjoyment in helping people succeed. Over the past 5 years, I have identified a prevalence of "leaders" with limited leadership skills. Then again, they are usually tasked with being "yes-men" and are unaware of any vision, nor have any of their own.  I personally find this ridiculous and am more interested in building organizations of loyal, results-driven, excited-to-learn, accountable engineers, managers and leaders. It tends to perpetuate consistent improvements, as well as happier customers. Yet, I still understand the conundrum.

So, Man up!  This article, and the ones to follow are for those that fear being told, No. Those that fear failure.

Side-note: Prior to my 19 years in the IT arena, I sold shoes at Nordstroms.  My sense of customer service might be extreme, but it is still important and stems from my younger years of customer service excellence. It has been one of the keys to my success, and has also contributed to my drive of  building employee and customer-centric organizations. Hence, the memes below.