Winning the battle of poor morale..

Morale is something that can be hard to turn around when the trend over the years is a downward spiral. Taking into account the challenges in a persons personal life and combining those with work challenges, it is easy to become defeated. In looking at both challenge positions we can make a direct impact in one. At work we can create an environment in which a person "gets excited about coming to work". However, don't forget you can make in impact in a coworkers life by just listening. Either way we have the ability to right the ship so to speak and stop the downward spiral in its tracks, the reality is whether we choose to do it or not..

A simple thought::

A simple thought:

Do as you would expect others to do, Lead as you would expect others to lead!

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Top down and face to face communication

Sorry for the hiatus my friends! I return today with a tidbit on communication. I firmly believe face to face communication will lead to moving an organization forward with accelerated growth. Who has the motivation to read emails, as we are already bombarded with those. However, we all usually have time to chat face to face and tend to enjoy that more. With all this being said this model of communication coming from senior management and flowing through the ranks will in my humble opinion move your organizations needs forward in a hurry! Give it a try!

ATTITUDES AND NEGATIVITY – Insurmountable Odds

       In the twenty-six plus years I have been working in IT there has always been at least a hint or small clique of negativity in the workplace, no matter the size of the organization. In thinking of the workplace environment being like an organism much like the human body it is subject to illness not via infection or disease but by negativity and poor morale. This infection will ultimately lead to what can become significant losses in productivity, worsening working conditions and poor customer service. As a leader, combating negativity is an ongoing battle. Don't allow the insurmountable odds take you down! Keep your head up and constantly look for ways to foster an attitude of greatness in your organization. Battle negativity by rising to new heights. More to come on this topic... 

ATTITUDE OF EDUCATION – Be the nudge

      Take steps to grow. Each day we should all be taking the steps necessary to obtain a better understanding of the systems we support as well as gaining a superior knowledge leading to industry certification. In taking these necessary steps, we will not only put ourselves in a superior position to maintain, support and enhance these systems but we will put ourselves in position to provide superior service to the business partners that rely on these systems.  It should always be the mindset of executive leadership to strongly encourage IT personnel to gain the necessary education and skills to grow professionally. It should also be the mindset of executive leadership to provide financial assistance to defray the cost of education. We all need a little push sometimes to get moving in the proper direction, when we can't do it ourselves executive leadership should be there to provide that nudge! Be the nudge today!

ATTITUDES AND NEGATIVITY – Combating Indolence

How many of you know what "indolence" is or how it leads to mediocrity in all aspects of your life, not just your career. Indolence is not only an attitude but a mindset. Indolence or what can be referred to as plain laziness will lead to others perceiving you as such, when this occurs you are limiting your career path and advancement in position. Each day you should be fighting indolence until any bad habits are broken. Remember co-workers, staff and even family are watching you to see how you act and react in all situations. If you did not know what indolence was , perhaps the reason is you were indolent in developing your vocabulary!

ATTITUDES AND NEGATIVITY – Dealing with Negativity

      No matter your position in an organization you cannot hang out with negative people and expect to live a positive life. Like I have always told my children “be careful of whom you hang around with”. Other mentors in my life have always said “in most cases you will become like the people you associate with”. In both cases I have found this to be true. If you want to lead a positive fulfilling life at work or personally I would suggest surrounding yourself with positive energetic people! If there are none in your immediate surrounding, change your surroundings or become the positive person that others can gravitate toward.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Self Evaluation

       Constantly evaluate where you are as an "employee" even though you are considered a leader. You should ask yourself, “am I growing”? Many IT people in general do not know where their future lies. Does it lie in database administration? Does it lie in network security? Does it lie in application management, etc? With this thought in mind I would suggest that it probably does not just lie in one area. It more than likely lies in several to many areas. Over the years I know many people switch roles, gain new skills and keep moving forward. Either way they do not stay at the same level for their careers and neither should you. Keep pressing forward and gain as much knowledge in as many areas as you can. The knowledge you accumulate will become invaluable to you in the future. I had a mentor once that told me “write your own ticket”! I am passing that little gem onto you, go above and beyond and write your own ticket!

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Let your light shine

      Let your light shine. Take pride in the work you do and in the leadership, you display.  This means being humble in context but showing pride in a job not just done well, but very well. Accept the accolades your colleagues give you with great enthusiasm and thank each of them for their sincerest thoughts. Be very prideful but not boastful. Everyone knows you went above and beyond in getting the job done already, hence the accolades. Letting your light shine tells your colleagues that you are approachable and more than likely amenable to assisting them with getting an aspect of a job completed since you are more than likely the local expert on that topic anyway.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Becoming so skilled

       Become so skilled and valuable. Whatever you do, do not become complacent or stagnant in your skill level or education. The worst disservice you could possibly do to yourself and your colleagues would be to quit acquiring new skills to keep up with new technologies and new market demands. We will in most cases always have the required skills to maintain our current systems but with the emergence of new technologies and platforms the need for these new skills will come into play. Become the “go to person”. You want to be the person that everyone comes to when there are questions to be answered and problems to be solved not only for your current systems but for any new technology explorations. Either way you should become known as the expert in your field regarding the systems you currently manage or have access to and the expert regarding any emerging technologies your department may be considering. In any case becoming so skilled will positively affect cultural change, it will inspire others to be like you!

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Do more than what is required

       Do more than what is required. Raise the bar at work, become a leader in all you do. Having a super attitude and affecting the cultural change around you is a great start, but now back up what you say with visible action -  it is time to walk the walk. For examples, take the extra time to help on a project area that is not yours but you see is falling behind in the project timeline, leave no coworker behind.  Stay the extra hours needed to be prepared for the next business day. Offer your assistance to anyone you see needing extra help.  Make yourself available after business hours for colleagues to ask questions or just chat. Give your personal cellphone number to business partners so they may reach you after hours in case there are questions they need answered right away or maybe there is other assistance you may provide. In any case doing more than what is required will positively affect cultural change.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Be an Uplifting Person

      Uplift others around you. When you see a coworker down, don’t kick him or her. Don’t go spreading rumors or gossip about them regarding any aspect of their work or personal life. It’s human nature to want to go to the break room and say, “Did you hear what John or Sally did”? No don’t do it, don’t do that to your family member.  In many cases these coworkers are like family. We spend more time each day with our coworkers than our own family members. Treat your coworkers like family, uplift them in times of need. Show respect to them and for them. You, your coworkers and your business will be better off for it.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – A culture of excellence

      Sow a culture of excellence. Sowing a culture of excellence can have many meanings to various people. I believe the single most important point in sowing a culture of excellence is having and displaying an attitude of excellence always. Having a super positive attitude will go a long way to accomplishing this goal. When you have a super attitude your confidence level skyrockets and that my friends becomes contagious to all those that surround you. You can actually feel it and the people around you can feel it as well. It’s like being on a high speed roller coaster while being hyped up on energy drinks and steroids!

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Excuses and Rumors

        Never make excuses for yourself or others, nor circulate rumors or bad news. Nothing ever goes perfectly to plan, especially in the world of Information Technology. Anything from simple system changes to elaborate platform changes can and will at some point bite you. It is how we handle these situations that affect cultural change. Instead of making excuses that may make you or your coworkers look inept and silly always tell the truth. People around you will respect you for being honest and forthright. We have all made mistakes in planning and implementation. Telling the truth will in most cases keep the bad rumors from circulating and creating more bad news.  General rule of thumb here, no excuses equals no rumors. No rumors or tales to tell equals a positive cultural change.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Investing in your colleagues

        Share the good news. If you know of someone that did something extraordinary at work or went above and beyond to accomplish a necessary task, let everyone know – become the town crier. Make it a point to personally congratulate them on a job well done, do this in person. High praise is the number one way of changing a mindset. If you change mindsets, you will affect cultural change in a positive way.

AFFECTING CULTURAL CHANGE – Being the change

"Be the change"...REALLY?
           You want to affect the atmosphere at work, help bring about cultural change. I never did like using old adages such as “be the change you want to see”, etc. Whenever I would hear people say things like that, all I wanted to do was slap them. I used to believe sayings like that held little gold if you will, but I have come to understand they are very much on point! If we’re going to bring out the best in people we need to sow seeds of encouragement. The seeds of encouragement you sow will no doubt take root at work and hopefully spill over into the personal life of those around you. Just like negative attitudes spread like a disease, so does positive encouragement.

Myself as a leader

I believe success is shared and failure is the responsibility of any leader. As a leader in Information Technology I will clearly convey the organization's vision in setting IT SOP standards to align with business objectives.

The single most important key for successful leadership is team building. As a leader, making a “personal investment” in the business is one of my objectives. It takes a solid commitment to provide resources, direction and support to the Information Technology team while enabling each person to rise to their greatest potential. Building close relationships with members of cross functional teams such as the Business Continuity Planning Team or the Disaster Recovery Team is essential to minimizing risk while keeping the business running at peak performance. As a working premise I subscribe to the adage “A leader should get out of the way and let each team member perform”.

As a leader using ITIL Foundation Fundamentals I will evaluate daily processes regarding business performance and procedures and if necessary work with individual departments in leveraging information technology to improve any process deficiencies while maintaining the highest levels of security. I believe the most important resource of any organization is the customer base. As part of an inclusive secure environment I prefer to foster a culture that provides honest and frank discussion between corporate leadership, employees and the customer base. An inviting environment must be created in which everyone is respected and able to voice their concerns while maintaining civility and respect for others.

It is imperative to recognize and appreciate others for their good work. Everyone enjoys being recognized for a job well done. I am believer in project reward programs and yearly bonus compensation packages, both being in addition to corporate recognition programs. As a leader I will create an environment that fosters innovation, creativity and rewards success and hard work. It has been said before, personal credit should not important to a leader. What should be important to a leader is succeeding at the task at hand. Whatever the problem or project is, the end result is to meet the goal or solve the problem. Although these are true statements in a sense I would be remiss in not mentioning that once again everyone enjoys being recognized for a job well done, even leaders.

When you are a leader you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with, not only does this apply in the business setting but it applies in your personal life as well. Remember when your parents told you to be careful of who you are friends with? Personally I surround myself with people that enhance my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. It is important for a leader to be aware of what he or she knows and does not know. Not knowing something is not necessarily a bad thing, but the ability to recognize this and know how to go about finding the answer is critical. Building a team of highly trained information technology professionals can be a cumbersome task in getting all the right training and the right people in the right areas. If done right you will have a team that meets threats both internal and external head on with an advanced tool set that mitigates risk to acceptable levels and keeps your data secure.

Communication through corporate channels and the dissemination of relevant information can make or break an organization. Decisions are made based upon the best information available. The free flow of information is imperative but within context, on a need to know basis and in compliance with data security procedures. I will create an environment to ensure communication of information is emphasized at every level ensuring that all information acted upon is complete, timely and accurate.

My leadership style is to be proactive and prevention oriented to mitigate risk. Ever heard the old adage “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”? It is better to be active than reactive. Constantly putting out fires is not a way to run any business, it detracts from the business objective and vision. To drive business processes that get the business to a point where putting out fires is not everyday reality I will implement proper change management procedures along with security measures that will make daily operations flow seamlessly. I very much enjoy having an open door policy while being visible and engaged with upper management, staff and customers making IT and system security seem less daunting.

As a leader in the Information Technology department, I will not shy away from making hard decisions. I will seek the counsel of others, but ultimately I will be accountable for the outcome no matter the situation. I have always ascribed to the tag line “The buck stops here”.

In general, I believe your organization as a business must continually engage in creative and critical thinking. We need not be afraid of change and we need to constantly seek innovation, new solutions and new ideas. However, I do not believe in change for the sake of change. If something works well, let us continue to let it work well and enhance it. If something is not working well, then let us find ways to change and improve upon it.

As a Chief Information Officer, Director or Functional Leader, I will maintain and develop strong relations with upper management, departmental leaders, cross functional teams, external vendors and customers. Together we will build an information technology team that allows everyone associated with your organization to succeed to their fullest potential.