1) What do you feel makes for good communication between IT and the business? What factors encourage or contribute to poor communications? Review page 63 and share some of your thoughts.

2) Beginning on page 67, the book discusses "What makes a good IT leader?". I sure we have all worked for someone we consider a good (or poor) leader. What were some of their traits you liked or disliked, and what does the book say about them? Did the book give you any ideas for adapting your own leadership style?

Page 63 & is given below

Appendix A IT Communication Competencies

Reproduced by permission of the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) of Canada www.ictc-ctic.ca

Level 1

Listens and clearly presents information

Listens/pays attention actively and objectively (Persons with hearing impairments may lip-read.)

Presents information and facts in a logical manner, using appropriate phrasing and vocabulary

Shares information willingly and on a timely basis

Communicates with others honestly, respectfully, and sensitively

Recognizes and uses nonverbal communications

Level 2

Fosters two-way communication

Recalls others main points and takes them into account in own communication

Checks own understanding of others communication (e.g., paraphrases, asks questions)

Elicits comments or feedback on what has been said

Maintains continuous, open, and consistent communication with others, considering nonverbal messaging as required

Level 3

Adapts communication

Tailors communication (e.g., content, style, and medium) to diverse audiences

Reads cues from diverse listeners to assess when and how to change planned communication approach to effectively deliver message

Communicates equally effectively with all organizational levels and sells ideas and concepts

Understands others complex or underlying needs, motivations, emotions, or concerns and communicates effectively despite the sensitivity of the situation

Level 4

Communicates complex messages

Communicates complex issues clearly and credibly with widely varied audiences

Handles difficult on-the-spot questions (e.g., from senior executives, public officials, interest groups, or the media)

Reads nonverbal communications signs and adapts materials and approach as required

Overcomes resistance and secures support for ideas or initiatives through high-impact communication

Level 5

Communicates strategically

Scans the environment for key information and messages to form the development of communication strategies

Communicates strategically to achieve specific objectives (e.g., considers optimal messaging and timing of communication)

Uses varied communication vehicles and opportunities to promote dialogue and develop shared understanding and consensus

Page 67 is given below

What Makes a Good IT Leader?

In many ways the qualities that make a good IT leader resemble those that make any other good leader. These can be divided into two general categories:

Personal mastery. These qualities embody the collection of behaviors that determine how an individual approaches different work and personal situations. They include a variety of soft skills, such as self-knowledge, awareness of individual approaches to work, and other personality traits. Most IT organizations include some form of personal mastery assessment and development as part of their management training programs. Understanding how one relates to others, how they respond to you, and how to adapt personal behaviors appropriately to different situations is a fundamental part of good leadership. One companys internal leadership document states, Leaders must exercise self-awareness, monitor their impact on others, be receptive to feedback, and adjust to that feedback. The higher up you get in IT, the greater the need for soft skills, claimed one member. Another noted the positive impact of this type of skills development: Its quite evident who has been on our management development program by their behaviors. An increasingly important component of this quality for IT staff is personal integritythat is, the willingness to do what you say you are going to doboth within IT and with external parties such as users and vendors.

Leadership skill mastery. These qualities include the general leadership skills expected of all leaders in organizations today, such as motivation, team building, collaboration, communication, risk assessment, problem solving, coaching, and mentoring. These are skills that can be both taught and modeled by current leaders and are a necessary, but not sufficient, component of good IT leadership (Bouley 2006).

However, good IT leaders are required to have a further set of skills that could be collectively called strategic vision if they are going to provide the direction and deliver the impact that organizations are expecting from IT. Because this is a soft skill, there is no firm definition of this quality, but several components that help to develop this quality at all levels in IT can be identified, including the following:

Business understanding. It should go without saying that for an IT leader to have strategic vision, he or she should have a solid understanding of the organizations current operations and future direction. This is well accepted in IT today, although few IT organizations have formal programs to develop this understanding. Most IT staff are expected to pick it up as they go along, mostly at the functional business process level. This may be adequate at junior levels, but being able to apply strategic vision to a task also involves a much broader understanding of the larger competitive environment, financial management, and marketing. Our customers are now our end users. With our systems now reaching customers and reaching out horizontally in the organization and beyond, IT staff all need a broader and deeper appreciation of business than ever before, said one manager.

Organizational understanding. A key expectation of strategic vision in IT is enterprise transformation (Korsten 2011; Mingay et al. 2004). This involves more than just generating insights into how technology and processes can be utilized to create new products and services or help the organization work more effectively; it also involves the effective execution of the changes involved. IT professionals have long known that technology must work in combination with people and processes to be effective. This is why they are now expected to be experts in change management (Kaminsky 2012). But being able to drive transformation forward involves a number of additional skills, such as political savvy (to overcome resistance and negative influences), organizational problem solving (to address conflicting stakeholder interests), effective use of governance structures (to ensure proper support for change), and governance design (to work with partners and service providers) (Bell and Gerrard 2004; Kim and Maugorgne 2003; Raskino et al. 2013). Because IT people come from a technical background and their thinking is more analytical, they typically do not have strong skills in this area and need to acquire them.

Creating a supportive working environment. Most IT work is done in teams. Increasingly, these teams are virtual and include businesspeople, staff from vendor companies, and members from different cultures. Motivating and inspiring ones colleagues to do their best, dealing with relationship problems and conflicts, and making decisions that are consistent with the overall goals of the organization and a particular initiative are the job of every IT staff member. Since much leadership in a matrixed organization such as IT is situational, an IT professional could be a leader one day and a follower the next. Thus, that person must know how to create a work environment that is characterized by trust, empowerment, and accountability. This involves clear communication of objectives, setting the rules of engagement, developing strong relationships (sometimes virtually), and providing support to manage risks and resolve issues (Bell and Gerrard 2004; Kaminsky 2012; Light 2013).

Effective use of resources. A good IT leader knows how to concentrate scarce resources in places where they will have the biggest payoff for the organization. This means not only making use of processes and tools to stretch out limited staff but also understanding where resources should not be used (i.e., saying no). In the longer term, using resources wisely may mean using job assignments and budgets to enhance peoples capabilities, identifying and developing emergent leaders, and using reward and recognition programs to motivate and encourage staff (Anonymous 2004). Unfortunately, IT staff have often been spread too thinly, underappreciated, and not given time for training. Good IT leaders value their people, run interference for them when necessary, and work to build bench strength in their teams and organizations.

Leadership Styles Vary According to the Degree of Involvement of Team Members

Commanding. Do what I tell you.

Pacesetting. Do as I do now.

Visionary. Come with me.

Affiliate. People come first.

Coaching. Try this.

Democratic. What do you think?

(after Roberts and Mingay 2004)

Flexibility of approach. A good IT leader knows where and how to exercise leadership. Skill mastery must be complemented with the ability to know when and where particular behaviors/skills are required and . . . how they should be deployed (McKeen and Smith 2003). Even though this is true in all parts of the organization, leadership in IT can be a rapidly shifting target for two reasons. First, IT staff are well-educated, well-informed professionals whose opinions are valuable. Good IT leaders know when to encourage debate and also when to close it down, said a manager. Second, the businesss rapid shifts of priority, the changing competitive and technical environment, and the highly politicized nature of much IT work mean that leaders must constantly adjust their style to suit a dynamic topography of issues and priorities. There is a well-documented continuum of leadership styles. . . . The most appropriate style depends on the enterprise style and the business and strategic contexts (Roberts and Mingay 2004).

Ability to gain business attention. A large component of IT leadership is focused not on the internal IT organization but outward toward all parts of the business. One of the biggest challenges for todays IT leaders is the fact that the focus of their work is more on business value than on technology (Korsten 2011). The ability to motivate business executives, often in more senior positions, lead business transformation, and gain and maintain executive attention is central to establishing and maintaining IT credibility in an organization (Kaminsky 2012; McDonald and Bace 2004). A good IT leader knows how to position his or her contribution in tangible, business terms; how to interact with business leaders; and how to guide and educate them about the realities of IT use. Bringing value to the business is a very important trend in IT leadership, stated one participant.

IT leaders will need more or fewer of these qualities, depending on the scope and type of their work. Obviously, IT staff responsible for sourcing will need a different mix of these skills than will those with an internal IT focus or those with a business focus.