Most IT operations in business are disconnected from business leaders and optimise the wrong things, says Gartner analyst Colleen Young.
Young says research has shown that 80% of CEOs want IT to focus on innovation, growth and effectiveness, while IT is largely focused on cost and efficiency. In addition, IT professionals keep following outdated business practices that no longer serve, because of fear to go outside of their comfort zone and a general attitude of "it can't be done".
"We are saddled with the human herding instinct," she says. "Most people will rather be followers than leaders, and so changes and business practices are based on what our neighbours are doing. Imitation is safe, a shortcut and guarantees belonging."
Young identifies a number of conventional IT practices that are still followed, but are not delivering results. One such practice is the belief that planning improves strategic execution. "The reality is that most strategic plans don't even consider execution." She notes that it is far more important that strategic goals be translated into performance targets throughout the entire organisation than to worry about long-term technology roadmaps.
Another outdated business belief is that collaboration drives innovation, says Young. She notes that collaboration smothers introverts, while research suggests real innovation comes from introverts. She suggests IT professionals should build time into the workday to allow for solitude, reflection and independent thought. In addition, it is a myth that leaders need to motivate workers, she notes.
"Leaders must motivate themselves. Being an effective leader is a tall order in strategic transformations within enterprises, but ineffective leadership is the number one reason why those transformations fail." It is more difficult to lead by example than to be descriptive, yet it is more effective, says Young.
Under-promising and over-delivering is not good, she says. Rather than playing games by promising less, IT departments should be honest and credible as to what they can deliver. She notes that business people often inflate budgets in anticipation that it will be cut and then hoping to get the budget they really wanted. "Don't you think the people with the cheque books know that you are doing this? All we are doing is leaving them to guess what the right levels [of budgets] are. It is far better to be honest, accurate and credible."
Young points out that certifications do not guarantee quality or results. "Certifications are ultimately about achieving conformity around a standard, but standards are rarely uniform. Certification should not be a replacement for your own judgement."
Similarly, IT departments should not be afraid of shadow IT. "Look for ways to facilitate shadow IT. There are going to be many ways of accomplishing work in the future, experimentation is good. Finding ideas of other people a threat and seeing it as a risk is something that we need to move beyond."
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