‘Governance’ is a term that is becoming more and more popular in today’s business. Governance, in essence, is the process of policing an organization internally, making sure standards and policies are adhered to, budgets are kept and that decisions are rational and appropriately transparent. Governance is there to ensure your organization complies with Sarbanes-Oxley, should …
If as you’ve felt that your meetings haven’t had the right spark of energy, or actually resulted in anything but a room full of hot air, then read on.
A number of emails led me to write this article on communicating ‘Bad News’. This is a common issue in business, particularly in the western world where short-term results are king. Passing on information that is considered to be unwelcome fills a lot of people with angst and dread, so I want to address this …
This might resonate with you if you’re a technical professional: how many times have you been asked to do a piece of work (often portrayed as a ‘small’ job) which disrupts planned activities and means one of both slip or are done with compromise? A study in 2002 found that IT departments can be spending …
I was perusing the CIO.com website and found a good article which covers the traits of a ‘bad CIO’. If you forgive CIO.com’s annoying paginated delivery of content, you might enjoy reading this. I think it applies not just to bad CIOs, but as I suggested in the title it can apply to spotting anyone …
Can you spot a bad CIO? (… or CTO, or IT Director, or IT Manager, or Head of IT) Read More »
One of the most difficult moves on a technical career path is moving from technician and knowledge worker (i.e. a ‘doer’) from a manager of supervisor. I found this tough, as do many technical professionals who have this responsibility thrust upon them. Supervisors and managers of the 21st century will have broader responsibilities, taking charge …
Taking your first step as a manager or supervisor in technical teams Read More »
The Helicopter Mind is a concept of thinking and questioning that allows managers to interweve abstract and specific thoughts, and to have the ability to switch between the two modes of thought appropriately and skilfully. An extensive study has shown that managers who have these abilities are more successful and perform better in their roles …
Developing a Helicopter Mind – how technical managers can improve their success Read More »
Below is a link to a great article that discusses No Excuse Leadership, which I think you should read. Why? Well I think it discusses an important aspect of leadership (and I stress leadership and not management) – creating a vision that inspires an organization to break down resistance to change and to set behavioral …
This is a debate I often see in technical circles, mostly between technicians and their less technical managers or stakeholders. It’s a debate that often leads to conflict or a reduction in morale or motivation in each party. It has career implications too; as technical leaders aiming to build a career, its something we need …
Perfectionism vs Pragmastism: Career Implications Read More »
Despite Pride being one of the Seven Deadly Sins, it is a powerful if not underused means of getting things done in the workplace. Pride is an emotion of self-respect. It is an emotion that, if tapped into, you can use to motivate others, particularly in technical job areas. I use pride as a trigger …
Using the Power of Pride in an organization to generate motivation Read More »
