Flickr: kool_skatkatLast month, NTEN's Executive Director, Holly Ross, posted a provocative article on our blog: "Rebranding the Accidental Techie." In it, she admits that she loves the term "accidental techie" but that if we want to empower more nonprofit professionals to be the "tech leaders" that NTEN and others believe will help their organizations carry out their missions more effectively, then perhaps we need to ban the "accidental" label and embrace the "leader" label.

I posed a question to our NTEN Members' LinkedIn Group about this challenge, specifically asking our members there to suggest ways NTEN could help more "accidental" techies re-brand themselves. It quickly became the most active discussion thread in our LInkedIn group, and I would like to share a bit of the stories and insights that resulted there. (If you're a member of NTEN, you can read the entire thread and particpate here.)

First, I should note that many folks don't want to leave behind the notion that "accidental techie" implies: that they are not certified technology experts, and that they (happily or otherwise) have adopted technology into their varied skillset as nonprofit professionals. As Kate Merriman put it, "the 'Accidental Techie' title rings a bell with so many of us who . . . fell into this field by discovering an interest or aptitude for technology while . . . pursuing other things."

There emerged in this discussion thread a "case study," that I felt was both inspiring and instructive. Here are some excerpts:

Amber Eastman Black, Rosenberg Fund for Children

On taking on the "tech leader" role more purposefully:

At my last performance review, I requested and was granted a change of official job title from "Public Relations Coordinator" to "Public Relations and Technology Coordinator." I asked for this to reflect the fact that as a 3-person staff, it has fallen to me in the last few years to lead the effort to implement a new fund raising-oriented website; a multi-pronged e-communication and online fund raising program; and a social media presence. I also am the front-line troubleshooter for the hardware and software tech issues in the office, and the contact person for dealing with all our various tech support companies, from the network guy, to the ISP, etc.

Did I give up any job responsibilities to add these? No. Am I being paid any more because of this expansion of responsibilities? No. The organization could not manage either of those. But I felt it important both for my own professional and personal sense of worth, and for the organization's health, that my colleagues, our Board of Directors, our donors, and our other stakeholders take notice of and really understand the degree to which technology has become important to our organization, and that it is being handled by me, a person without a technical background. Asking for and then announcing the new job title gave me the opening to have that discussion with all involved.

An example of putting her "leader" role into play for her organization:

. . . When it fell to me to lead us into this brave new world of "growing our online presence," I taught myself by teaching my colleagues, and insisted they become minimally informed to the point that they could weigh in on decisions and directions that I was charged with, since I didn't want to be alone in the wilderness. I created a learning curriculum by doing a lot of reading, taking a lot of webinars, etc. While doing so, I curated articles and other resources that I found helpful, in many cases printing them out (gasp!) and putting them into a binder sectioned by topic. Then I assigned each topical section of the binder to my coworkers, we set up a meeting time a week or two later, and they did their homework and then reconvened to discuss the topic. We worked through the whole binder eventually, and they came out of the process with enough understanding to both value my leadership role in this realm, and to be sounding boards for the really big decisions, major investments, etc.

The reception from her organization to her new leadership role:

This process also helped immensely when it came time to create the next year's tech budget; justifying expenditures, etc. And it gave everyone a profound awareness of how it might have been "accidental" that I fell into this role, but it is not off-hand or non-deliberate that I continue in it. It's vital to the organization's success, especially in these financially-trying times.

Amber's summary thoughts on her transition from accidental to purposeful techie:

One thing I would add is that my approach at my job was possible because of an organizational culture that allowed it. Those in leadership positions here are comfortable with acknowledging what they do not know; exploring and assessing new strategies and tools that are presented to them; and empowering staff members to take the lead on projects for which those staff people have the interest, ability, or time... even if those projects were not ones that would have been expected under those staff members' original job descriptions. Openness, flexibility, and understanding that resisting evolution is a sure path to obsolescence, are not too common... but really vital to integrating technology successfully, since technology by its very nature is constantly evolving.

We thank you all for the discussion and examples you've shared with us on the topic. If you've made a successful transition from "accidental" to "purposeful" techie at your organization (and feel free to define what success is for this!), we'd love to hear your story and your advice to others.