The Gap
If there’s anything that I’ve learned while working in the IT industry is that no
matter where you go, no matter the industry or geographic location, there is always
a gap between the operational side of a business and the executive decision makers.
Let me explain.
A friend of mine runs a leadership training company and was to present
to a large IT department. He comes from the leadership/vision camp and naturally
had no idea how to communicate with this group of “nerds,” so guess who he came
to for help. I explained to him that the communication gap is best illustrated by
looking back to high school and analyzing the different groups there and realizing
that not much has changed:
- The typical corporate leader comes from a more outgoing
and active group such as the football team, other sports, or student leadership.
- The operational people come from groups that focused on studies and on solving
problems — the band members or members of the chess club.
Just remember how well
(sarcasm intended) these groups gelled in high school and you’ll see why the two
groups still have issues in corporate America. My leadership training friend’s eyes
were opened. Now, I’m not saying that these groups can’t work together and make
amazing things happen, it’s just that there is a gap there that needs to be first
identified and then negotiated.
How do we deal with it? It’s not always possible.
Some leaders prefer to disassociate from the operations side of things. Sometimes
the “nerds” are so introverted that they make any communications effort by their
outgoing leaders completely ineffectual. BUT, when the two groups make inroads against
the natural tendencies of exclusion, that’s when the magic happens.
A good example
for leaders to keep in mind is the effective running of a naval vessel. The captain
understands enough about all the functions of his ship to have a great appreciation
of the challenges his commands present to the different departments that execute
his orders. If he orders engineering to give him 110% percent from the engines,
he already knows that’s a tall order and after the need has passed he knows he needs
to go pat his engine room guys on the back for maximum effort.
The best corporate
leaders understand the vast majority of challenges all departments face and appreciate
the people so willing to stretch to make the corporate vision come true. On the
other hand, the best operational people recognize that they will often be challenged,
but buy into the corporate vision and enjoy stretching because they know that their
leaders understand what they do and appreciate it.
In the end, narrowing “the gap” can make or break an organization. High turn-over rates are expensive and are a symptom of “the gap”. If you have a gap in your organization recognizing it is the first step to solving it. If you're one of the leaders, invest in understanding all that you can about your various departments and how the job gets done. If you toil in operations, work with executives to understand what they are trying so hard to accomplish. Help them understand the cost — both in dollars and in time — while making sure that they understand that you are ultimately trying to help them accomplish their vision.
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