21st IT Leadership

Paper submitted on the topic Leadership as part of the discussions in the Business Intelligence class. February 2006

In today’s education world where information and communication is intensive, IT professionals should be empowered with knowledge, skills, and abilities that technology offers. The enormous power that innovation and communications afford cannot be pushed to its full potential without the direct participation and support of an institution’s leadership. IT leadership requires many of characteristics to all leaders. But it also requires special abilities and insights into technology’s impact.

Retired General Colin Powell believes that leadership in the new millennium will be the same as that of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or other great leaders of the past- it will require people to have a vision where they want to lead, how to choose the right people, and how to accomplish objectives, but one major difference will be affecting the leaders of the 21st century- the transformation occurring in the world’s industrial, societal and economic realms. Accordingly, this transformation is occurring due to the fast-paced and globally centered information and technology revolution. Leaders positioned within this new era must be able to use the powerful tools offered by this global revolution.

The IT Leader
Some people see the leader as a motivator, while others define a leader as one having extraordinary vision and decision-making power. In his article, The Fifth Discipline- The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge defines leaders as designers, stewards and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision and improve shared mental models- that is, they are responsible for learning.

Several noted authors in the field offer sound definitions of leadership. C. Dede (Leadership Without Followers) states that the true nature of leadership is exemplified by four attributes: envisioning opportunities; displacing cherished misconceptions; inspiring others to act on faith; and encouraging followers. The National School’s Board Association (NBSA) stress that IT leaders must foresee leadership ability in others, as technology mentorship has become increasingly important.

A view of leadership offered by J. Burns (Leadership) argues that leadership is better understood as a political relationship emerging from the "chaotic, reciprocal interaction among people with potentially conflicting goals, values and ideals"--all of which impact the new technological era in which we are immersed. Thus, IT leaders should focus on ways that organizational structures and systems, human nature, moral order, value development, effects of personal choice, and personal similarities and differences have upon ability to effect change.

R. White, in his article Seekers and Scalers, The Future Leaders, states that the most effective leaders will build upon the skills of the past and present. He adds that to successfully lead others in the midst of constantly changing environments, leaders need to capitalize on the best strengths of past leaders, while staying flexible to explore unexpected byways, and taking calculated risks. He further emphasizes that effective leaders will identify productive areas of confusion and uncertainty that exist in society, will demonstrate that they do not have all the answers but are willing to learn, and will be able to "act differently, think differently, and seek inspiration from different sources" than leaders of the past. A combination of inherited leadership traits combined with effective leadership training, deep insight into new technological tools and advancements and their impact on the future, strong corporate nurturing, and repeated practice could yield the best result--a well-rounded, skilled, and instinctive IT leader.

Essential Qualities
In describing the qualities of an effective IT leader, A. Alter and B. Avant stress that today's IT leader must possess analytical and listening skills as true listening involves insight into what will work today, tomorrow, and in the future. The IT leader must take the initiative to try new methods without fear of failure--an enormous task facing the IT leader when deciding on solutions to technology-related issues within their scope of influence.

Ed Rose (Effective Leadership: A Very Old Formula) likewise believes that leaders must also possess the ability to adapt to changes in technology- having the paradigm flexibility to allow change to occur and, in some cases, be the catalyst.

Kearsley and Lynch (Educational Technology: Leadership Perspective) admonish that general leadership skills are not sufficient in IT enriched environments. They state that "specific technology-related knowledge is required" and it must directly relate to the tools, medium, strategies, and competencies found within this culture. Not only must the IT leader possess the competencies to use and evaluate these tools, but he/she must also have the insight into the impact these tools will have on the future of organizations.

In a similar statement, Bryan Bergeron (Essentials of Knowledge Management) states that one responsibility of the leader (typically, the CKO or CIO) is to familiarize himself with software and information tools- that is, being a technologist. Although, he does not necessarily have to be from the IT world, he has to understand tools in sufficient depth to estimate the overhead associated with their use.

In addition to the skills stated above, current literature also provides us with a long list of characteristics IT leaders should possess, some of which are common to all leaders, but given a different perspective in terms of IT leadership. For instance:

• KM-powered – knows his people’s capabilities and convinces them to share knowledge (Mascardo, 2005)


• Open-mindedness – always ready to try new ways of doing things (Kotter, 1993)


• Ability to communicate – keeping abreast of what’s going on (Elgin and LeDrew, 1999)


• Innovative – without fear of failure (Avant, 1996)


• Ability to network – a team builder (Wunsch, 1992)


• Ability to listen – knowing how to keep quiet yet informed (Alter, 1999)


• Calculated risk-taking – open to possibilities, questioning assumptions and taking a stand (Capowski, 1994)

Conclusion
The field of IT leadership will be extremely important in this millennium as technology (equipment, software, hardware, and infrastructure) continues to advance rapidly and change becomes imperative. IT leaders will be learners who constantly test themselves because learning is a pivotal force and gateway to survival for the future. Leadership for the IT era must focus on encouraging and sustaining corporate nurturing and provide an atmosphere where innovation is encouraged and creativity is rewarded. The agility to succeed in a rapidly changing world requires cooperation, organization, enrichment of ideas, and strong commitment to change- all important skills that the systems-level thinking IT leader would do well to adopt.

The importance of 21st Century IT leadership can best be summed up by Fitzgerald in the following passage from Living on the Edge:

Complex events, and chaotic developments and trends in our modern world are confronting business leaders with a compelling mandate for change of unprecedented proportions. And not just any old change will do... In this world of turbulence and flux, no change short of profound transformation will suffice. It seems certain that the "new realities" of chaos, complexity, and discontinuous change are here to stay.

Globalization, fierce competition, the remarkably diverse workforce, the continuing explosion of information and technology, economic and social upheaval are only a few of a plethora of signals from the marketplace we must begin to heed. The message is clear: If survival is the aim, change is the game--change not only in how our work gets done, but in how we think about our work, our enterprises, ourselves and our lives.