Question:

Beyond Theory; What Leadership Concepts/Behaviors Exemplify a Successful IT Manager? Actions for ''Beyond Theory; What Leadership Concepts/Behaviors Exemplify a Successful IT Manager?''

As a basis for this Discussion, please review the Myers/Cox (2007) article found in your Presentation readings: See the article below: "How to develop value-added leadership." In your discussion you may wish to consider (but not be limited by) such issues as follows.

The IT manager as technician and/ or "people person."

Why some IT managers are likely to be successful and others fail.

The importance of identifying/ understanding both organizational and technical issues...as well as making decisions which solve, not create more, problems.

What role leadership knowledge and skills play.

The role of organizational "politics."

How does an IT manager actually learn the trade.

The article entitled "How to develop value-added IT leadership" is posted in the following paragraphs.

How to develop value-added IT leadership

By: Ken Myers and Sonya Cox (2007)

Meet Lynette, a seemingly super-charged IT supervisor. Her assigned turf is network administration, but she is often the first to pitch in on special projects, can habitually be found providing requested extra staff guidance and generally sets a highly motivated personal example within her unit. Thus, Lynette routinely displays certain highly desirable leadership characteristics which add more value to, and have greater impact on, unit performance and outcomes. Lynette is a ''value-added leader'' similar to several you can likely identity within your own organization. Look around, and you''ll find a number of workers at every level who consistently add value to your and other organizations by displaying desirable leadership characteristics. They ratchet performance and outcomes by demonstrating this distinctive leadership in at least four influential dimensions.

Self and others

Call value-added leaders "quiet revolutionaries." They are infectious self-starters who tend to influence others in work environments with their spirit and enthusiasm. They:

Project energy by providing task excitement and enthusiasm. Some may be quiet and unassuming, others raucous, but they are all can-do achievers -- models and catalysts for positive action. Their energy rarely leaves them content to sit on the sidelines.

Are involved without being obtrusive. They walk around nudging, assisting, helping, sharing information, and engaging others in the work processes. They actively promote teamwork and a sense of shared fate.

Embrace change by guiding, cajoling, and otherwise helping others travel the pathways of opportunity. They consistently encourage others to embrace positive expectations and to see emerging prospects.

Persuade and persevere by facilitating and influencing others to steadfast pursuit of purpose. With both straightforward and subtle strategies they limit blocking and are seen to turn others on to energetic purpose.

Awareness and choice

Value-added leaders keep the organization sharp by raising awareness of both problems and opportunities. They also help to prevent a "ready, shoot, aim" mindset where first or incomplete solutions are sometimes chosen without adequate analysis. They:

Look beyond the obvious and seek the reasoned choice among alternatives, then move to deliberate action.

Maintain perspective and help others to look beyond immediate boundaries and sense the big picture.

Promote learning by stressing the need to understand options. They nudge others to explore possibilities. They are persistent teachers of both knowledge and the spirit of inquiry.

Focus and integration

Organizations abound with unfocused activity; much of it never contributing to overall performance and success. Often the wheel is reinvented or something drops through the cracks as a result of political boundaries and a perceived need for turf protection. In sharp contrast, value-added leaders help to:

Target energy on opportunities by assisting organization members to establish priorities and jointly focus on high-promise activities and outcomes. They help to reduce the problem of too much opportunity and not enough direction by helping to identify, test, and prioritize alternatives.

Foster task linkage with others by creating a sense of common bonds as well as shared fate and opportunity. They work to break through the functional cages and silos of organizational life, helping others to see and comprehend the size and shape of the elephant entrusted to their care.

Influence cooperative action by turning fences into bridges. They realize that seeing common bonds will not always guarantee cooperative action. They hone influence and teamwork skills in themselves and others. And, they consistently share information, resources, even credit, in pursuit of common benefit.

Innovation and performance

Value-added leaders are not always heroes who make incredible advancements or engineer impossible IT feats. They are mostly ordinary folks who generate improvement bit by bit. They seem to always be pursuing small successes; "eating that elephant one bite at a time." They:

Are never satisfied that structures, processes, and outcomes are as good as they could or should be. They think in terms of continuous process improvement. At home with planned incremental change, they also appear to be tinkerers who adjust, try out, or test.

Support creativity by challenging others to invest time, talent, and resources in tasks. They value the insight that springs from careful examination, and they are excited by a unique or creative approach or by a challenging opportunity.

Take initiative and often turn "what if" into action. With little fanfare, they size up a situation, involve others, come up with a plan, and simply get on with it. They accept reasonable risks and rationally invest organizational resources in the pursuit of improvement while encouraging others to do so as well.

Stress a positive work environment and challenge themselves and others to maintain a motivating task setting. They model and coach caring interaction. They set new standards of quality performance in service to both internal and external customers.
How to promote value-added leadership

Not every supervisor in your IT group is likely to be imbued with all of the characteristics of a value-added leader. Yet, in surveying your organization, you are apt to find people who exhibit a host of these distinctive elements. Each of these behaviors can be recognized and shaped within an organization. Value-added leadership is a collection of learnable behaviors likely to profit your organization. We suggest considering three strategies:

First, look at your organization. You are liable to have keen but unheralded examples of value-added leaders already in your midst. Consider identifying and being a champion of these leaders, acknowledging their efforts and helping them to further succeed.

Second, as you screen for employment, promotions, and rewards, keep value-added leadership in mind.

Third, design and integrate value-added leadership learning modules into your organization''s training efforts. Much, if not all, value-added leadership behavior can be improved by determined organizational training.

If you want improved leadership and results in your IT organization, make value-added leadership your conscious organizational choice.