Stop Talking Past Each Other! Improve Communication by Tuning Into Your Dominant “Language”

Posted by in IT Management

Do you ever have those moments in a conversation when you can tell that you just aren’t on the same page as the other person? You’re saying similar words, but your wires are getting crossed. For some reason, you just don’t understand things the same way. It is a frustrating, confusing, and time-consuming phenomenon. Miscommunication also wreaks havoc on team productivity. The good news is you can put a stop to these issues once you understand power of communication styles and how they influence what people say, hear, and think. 

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So What? The Big Takeaways After Reading the Digital Transformation Report

Posted by in IT Management

For the CIOs’ Perspectives on Digital Transformation study, IT leaders from a wide range of industries and organization sizes were asked about the nature of their ongoing digital transformations, progress along their journeys, challenges, and more. Based on their responses and our experience with clients, we have drawn the following conclusions about the state of digital transformations in 2018.

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Now You’re Agile: Stop Sucking at Sponsorship

Posted by in IT Management, IT Projects

Agile is about empowering teams and individuals. The roles defined by Agile are: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and team member. Not listed? Project sponsor.

That said, organizations often have established practices around designating a sponsor or two when a project or program is initiated. How do these two worlds meet? Should Agile teams have sponsors or not? Can a sponsor provide value to an Agile project?

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Hitting the Brakes on a Failing Project: How to Implement a Project Pause

Posted by in IT Projects

Many organizations try to fight against project failure by adding budget, resources, or time to the baseline. However, throwing money at the situation often leads to wasted efforts and more frustration, if the root problem isn’t addressed. Failure itself isn’t necessarily something to resist (see our thoughts on failing fast). However, pulling the plug on a major project can be easier said than done. Internal politics or other factors may limit the team’s ability to admit failure and cancel an initiative.

When your project is destined to fail, but abandoning ship is not an option, a brief pause and shift can allow you to turn things around before you completely blow the budget.

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5 Risks CIOs Must Assume in the Digital Age

Posted by in IT Management

For too many people, the concepts of “acting as a responsible CIO” and “taking risks” are mutually exclusive. A Traditional CIO is accustomed to a world where if nothing breaks, their job is safe. If they don’t touch anything, they can’t break anything. In this paradigm, taking risks is unwise.

In my opinion, rampant risk avoidance is the reason CIOs now lose their jobs at the second highest rate among the C-suite. Inaction—or maintaining the status quo—carries a much greater threat to the CIO (and the organization) than does taking an active stance and assuming the associated risks. In the digital age, where IT is the business, being CIO is like playing quarterback: if you stay in the pocket long enough, you will get sacked. You have to make a move.

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Build an Unbeatable Team Culture with 4 Simple Techniques

Posted by in IT Management

In work, as in life, we can’t succeed on our own. In fact, the cornerstone of execution, change, and success in any organization is not a single person, but rather teams of people who work together to make things happen.

But why is it that some teams knock it out of the park while others struggle? The secret lies with organizational leadership and management—are you giving your teams what they need to succeed?

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Your first 100 days as CIO came and went. Now what?

Posted by in IT Management

Sure, the first days in your role as CIO are critical. Advice abounds in books, blog posts, and presentations for how to approach your initial 90- or 100-day period. These recommendations are compelling and directionally sound. In reality, it’s rare when a CIO nails their first 100 days in perfect form. But that’s ok! The real issue is what you should do after the first 100 days are up.

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5 Ways to Gain Your Team’s Trust as a Scrum Master

Posted by in IT Management, IT Projects

Trust is the grease that keeps a team running smoothly. One of the most effective and low-cost ways to improve the delivery, performance, and morale is to gain the team’s trust. As a Scrum Master, it’s your responsibility to build trust with your team. A team that trusts their Scrum Master has an advantage over others. Broadly speaking, teams perform better when they feel they’re in good hands.

Scrum Masters can seem like outsiders, as you tend to interact with the team, not with their work. The dynamic is exacerbated during Agile transformations: Scrum Masters who are brought in to work with a team that is used to a waterfall approach can struggle to gain the team’s trust.

Here are 5 ways to connect with your team, and demonstrate that you are here to help and support them:

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The Traditional-Transformational CIO Spectrum: What Type of CIO Are You?

Posted by in IT Management

There is a new type of CIO on the scene: the Transformational CIO. Transformational CIOs focus on external customers, innovate, think about the top line, drive business process evolution, and change the culture of the entire organization.

The almost-extinct type of a CIO—one we would all like to forget—we’ll call the Traditional CIO. Little is written about the misery of the Traditional CIO. Traditional CIOs are focused on technology first, take orders from internal customers, don’t rock the boat, and diligently reduce IT spend by 10 percent year over year, using band-aid solutions to keep outdated technology operational.

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