Yes, the environment around the I.T. department continues to change. Soon it will be a distant memory of the past – where the definition of a ‘good’ I.T. employee was a knowledgeable techie in their area (I don’t like the word geek).
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Information Technology departments are looking for more than someone who just is good at ‘tech stuff’. Things like project management, professional development, and manager related skills (even if your not a manager or even headed in that direction) are in more current I.T. job descriptions than not.
No matter what industry you are in: there is always another side to the I.T. department – which is commonly known as ‘the business’. Now granted, without the business side there wouldn’t be an I.T. department. At the same time, it is still probably one of the hardest areas to interact with.
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For the most part, ‘the business’ doesn’t understand what I.T. does and for the most part – I.T. doesn’t understand what ‘the business’ does. However, the last statement is rapidly changing. In order to educate or even interact with business side – most all I.T. employees are being molded to interact in some way with the business side. Don’t expect the opposite trend anytime soon – business people only want to share their needs and let someone else figure out how to get it done. Their job is about improving the bottom number – nothing else.
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Often, I.T. employees get accused of talking in another language to people outside of their department. I think that after being in I.T. for a while – many people forget how to talk ‘normal’. Even using ‘normal talk’ would be better than using all the new words learned in the tech world while talking to people on the business side.
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Often this only temporary – especially for I.T. people who are seeking advancement of any kind. They finally start to learn the next phase by adding business ‘lingo’ to their vocabulary. Before long, the business vocabulary starts flowing out much like the tech talk once did. One might argue (I sure would) that tech talk and business lingo can both be very annoying when overused.
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That would bring us to the ‘peak’ where the pursuit of a well-rounded vocabulary takes place. This is basically the process where you try and regain your normalness (which is where you started), only now you have all that tech and business knowledge/vocabulary that you could draw and fire at any time.
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Caution: Many times people stop at the business part and never come off that high. From an I.T. employee point of view, I don’t think any of us want to turn into a ‘business guy’ that now is viewed by others as someone who doesn’t understand how I.T. works. If you never come off that peak – it is hard to relate to other I.T. employees anymore; no matter how many decades ago you started in I.T.
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It takes the ‘down to earth’ personality to win over others. A lot of times this is tough for people to achieve. There is always someone else higher on the food chain. An I.T. leader eventually answers to the business people. Those people wind up spending all their time trying to relate (or please) those business leaders and do not spend enough time on the ‘flipside’ relating to I.T. employees.
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This relating to I.T. employees I talk about is more than just ‘interacting’ with others in the department. You can be someone in a leadership role and attend all the ‘fun’ events that take place and still not be perceived at someone approachable or who ‘really understands’. I.T. workers want someone who can relate to what they are doing, someone who can feel their pain, someone who truly understands our problems. Granted, we all like the ‘fun’ events with all the food and partying – but what we really want is someone who serves as the cheerleader for the average employee.
Â
In summary, in the pursuit of advancement inside your department, whether you agree with the statements I have made or not – keep this in mind: Always be aware of your current surroundings. Make notes of the things you like and don’t like. Don’t become someone in the future that creates the very atmosphere you despised years earlier. An upcoming leader will be able to observe others and learn from the good actions along with the bad. We take these experiences in to shape ourselves into better future leaders.
The Road to Advancement
Yes, the environment around the I.T. department continues to change. Soon it will be a distant memory of the past – where the definition of a ‘good’ I.T. employee was a knowledgeable techie in their area (I don’t like the word geek).
Â
Information Technology departments are looking for more than someone who just is good at ‘tech stuff’. Things like project management, professional development, and manager related skills (even if your not a manager or even headed in that direction) are in more current I.T. job descriptions than not.
No matter what industry you are in: there is always another side to the I.T. department – which is commonly known as ‘the business’. Now granted, without the business side there wouldn’t be an I.T. department. At the same time, it is still probably one of the hardest areas to interact with.
Â
For the most part, ‘the business’ doesn’t understand what I.T. does and for the most part – I.T. doesn’t understand what ‘the business’ does. However, the last statement is rapidly changing. In order to educate or even interact with business side – most all I.T. employees are being molded to interact in some way with the business side. Don’t expect the opposite trend anytime soon – business people only want to share their needs and let someone else figure out how to get it done. Their job is about improving the bottom number – nothing else.
Â
Often, I.T. employees get accused of talking in another language to people outside of their department. I think that after being in I.T. for a while – many people forget how to talk ‘normal’. Even using ‘normal talk’ would be better than using all the new words learned in the tech world while talking to people on the business side.
Â
Often this only temporary – especially for I.T. people who are seeking advancement of any kind. They finally start to learn the next phase by adding business ‘lingo’ to their vocabulary. Before long, the business vocabulary starts flowing out much like the tech talk once did. One might argue (I sure would) that tech talk and business lingo can both be very annoying when overused.
Â
That would bring us to the ‘peak’ where the pursuit of a well-rounded vocabulary takes place. This is basically the process where you try and regain your normalness (which is where you started), only now you have all that tech and business knowledge/vocabulary that you could draw and fire at any time.
Â
Caution: Many times people stop at the business part and never come off that high. From an I.T. employee point of view, I don’t think any of us want to turn into a ‘business guy’ that now is viewed by others as someone who doesn’t understand how I.T. works. If you never come off that peak – it is hard to relate to other I.T. employees anymore; no matter how many decades ago you started in I.T.
Â
It takes the ‘down to earth’ personality to win over others. A lot of times this is tough for people to achieve. There is always someone else higher on the food chain. An I.T. leader eventually answers to the business people. Those people wind up spending all their time trying to relate (or please) those business leaders and do not spend enough time on the ‘flipside’ relating to I.T. employees.
Â
This relating to I.T. employees I talk about is more than just ‘interacting’ with others in the department. You can be someone in a leadership role and attend all the ‘fun’ events that take place and still not be perceived at someone approachable or who ‘really understands’. I.T. workers want someone who can relate to what they are doing, someone who can feel their pain, someone who truly understands our problems. Granted, we all like the ‘fun’ events with all the food and partying – but what we really want is someone who serves as the cheerleader for the average employee.
Â
In summary, in the pursuit of advancement inside your department, whether you agree with the statements I have made or not – keep this in mind: Always be aware of your current surroundings. Make notes of the things you like and don’t like. Don’t become someone in the future that creates the very atmosphere you despised years earlier. An upcoming leader will be able to observe others and learn from the good actions along with the bad. We take these experiences in to shape ourselves into better future leaders.