Dahna Goldstein, PhilanTech
If the words "executive" or "chief" do not appear in your job title, you may think you're not in the right position to lead a successful technology change. Here are a few things you can do to challenge that assumption and become a technology change leader.
Leadership and formal authority are not the same thing -- anyone who has experienced a bad boss can attest to that. Leadership isn't about giving orders; it's about giving inspiration. Formal authority is granted through position on an org chart, or through mandate (or sometimes fiat) from the senior management of an organization. Leadership is cultivated and demonstrated.
We've all known people who are natural leaders. Sure, there are people who are so charismatic that you'd follow them anywhere, but leadership actually has a definable set of abilities, attitudes, and practices that can be developed and refined.
What makes a leader? Dwight Eisenhower said that, "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it." You can't be a leader if no one will follow you. And you won't become a leader overnight just because there is a technology initiative on the horizon that you want to champion.
So how do you hone that kind of skill? How do you develop your ability and credibility as a technology leader in your organization? Here are some strategic ways to position yourself well to lead a technology change, and inspire people to want to do the things you want to do.
What Makes a Leader?
Research shows that people who are seen as leaders are viewed on the basis of two things: what they do, and what they know.
What You Do
Do you work hard? Are you a person of integrity? Do others see you that way? Are you someone your colleagues trust? Do people come to you for problem solving?
If you spend most of your day sitting in your office, in front of your computer, or in a server room, try venturing out. Talk to your colleagues. Demonstrate that you know a lot about technology -- show them that you're a tech expert (more about that below) -- and about your organization and its mission. Ask them questions and really listen to the answers. Show them that you're someone they can rely on, someone who cares about the same issues they care about.
The more people see you as someone they can turn to, the better positioned you'll be to lead a tech change.
What You Know
Do people see you as a tech expert? Being an expert doesn't mean knowing everything there is to know about technology. It means knowing what you know, knowing what you don't know -- and, at the risk of quoting Donald Rumsfeld, what you don't know you don't know -- and, equally important, knowing where to get information if you don't know the answer.
Bolstering your expertise can happen through research and sharing your knowledge. Do your homework before meetings, and if someone asks you a question to which you don't immediately know the answer, research the response and get back to them. Use resources both within and outside the organization to bolster your knowledge. It will help build your credibility.
In addition to knowing your subject areas, get to know the people in your organization. This can take some time. Knowing people means understanding what's important to them, how they approach their jobs, what concerns they have, how they make decisions, and what motivates them. if you're not the techie in the organization -- and even if you are -- you also have to know something about your organization's mission and constituents.
All of this is important to building your credibility as a leader, and to helping position technology changes that you want to lead. While you're learning about people in your organization, find out who the influencers are -- which people in your organization are the ones whose opinions will help sway others. They'll be important to you as you navigate through change.
Leading a Technology Change
To set the stage for a tech change, create the context for the change. Why is this tech change important for your organization? How will it help the organization's mission?
This is where what you know will help. Use the knowledge and the informal authority you have developed as an expert in your organization to demonstrate the importance of the change and the rationale for undertaking it, as well as your own commitment to the change. Jay Conger, a professor at Claremont McKenna College who researches persuasion and motivation, writes that effective leaders show that their commitment to the cause they are championing is not just in their heads, but in their hearts and guts as well. If you have built your credibility in the organization, demonstrating your commitment will go a long way towards inspiring others to follow.
As much as we're all dedicated to our organizations' missions, it's human nature to ask, "What's in it for me?" when asked to take on a task or change a behavior. Providing an answer to that question -- even before it's asked -- will help you motivate others in your organization to get behind your initiative. That answer will vary from person to person, depending on individual goals, motivations, and personalities. This is where understanding your co-workers comes in handy. If you can illustrate to people you're trying to influence how supporting your initiative will help them -- how it will save them time, make their jobs easier, make them look like rock stars, help support the mission you all care about -- you'll have an easier time providing an incentive for them to get on board with your initiative. Aligning their incentives with the change you are leading will encourage people to be inspired to do what you want them to do -- because they want to do it.
Now that you know who they are and what motivates them, think about the influencers in your organization. What is important to them? How can you get them to support your initiative vocally and visibly? If you can inspire a few influencers to join your cause by aligning their incentives with the goals you are trying to achieve with the tech change, you can create a coalition. Those influencers will help to sway others in the organization by helping to align their incentives with the tech change you're leading, and will help to bridge the formal authority gap.
Leadership is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration (and preparation). The 10% may come to you naturally, or it may be something you need to cultivate by demonstrating your commitment and the benefits of the change you're leading. The 90% is an ongoing process of engaging your colleagues, asking questions, really listening to answers, learning, and demonstrating knowledge, trustworthiness, and integrity.
While there is much more to leading and managing technology change (some of which can be found at http://bit.ly/5dvPM3), starting to work on these principles now will help you position your technology leadership down the road, whether or not you're the boss.