First lets look at the differences between managers and leaders. According to the book ‘Leadership Theory and Practice’ by Peter G Northhouse, leadership is defined as:

 Leadership: the process of an individual to influence a group to achieve a common goal

Management: the process of seeking order and stability

The following chart from the same book demonstrates this very clearly

Todays IT leader must manage to produce order and consistency, or another way to put it “command and control”. Successful IT leaders make order out of ciaos. However as a leader, they must also be assuming the leadership role of producing change and movement. The IT leader must be business focused, and not task focused. They must be able to gain command and control, but then set the vision, and drive the group forward.

Some people are good managers, some are great leaders, or rare occasions you find people who are both. In my career I have worked for managers, I have also worked for leaders. On a few occasions I have worked for people who were both a exceptional  managers, and a exceptional leaders. It is from these people I have been granted amazing examples of how this plays out in reality.

Dave Hodgson

I find myself more and more discussing and speaking about the value of what IT is delivering. I am passionate about technology and the opportunity it brings to the organization. I am also an advocate that technology must solve a business problem, and it must bring meaningful value to the organization.

Far too often I see IT folks with a hot new technology trying to find a business problem to solve. We in IT must become part of the business, learning and understanding its processes, its cultures, its idiosyncrasies, and its business models. How does the business operate? How does it make money? How is IT impacting the businesses ability to operate in today’s economy? When we have a deep understanding for these questions, we can then begin looking for area’s where our technology can bring value and wholly affect the organization in the market place.

Today’s IT leaders require more than ever before an increasingly broadened field of focus and diversity. On one hand an understanding of what disk speed and architecture will support the IOP’s required for our new virtualization technology. On the other hand  balancing the budget with last months actuals. We must be able to walk through the data center enabling command and control, and then sit in the board room and discuss organization strategy and vision.

LeadingBits is about the journey of IT leaders and the challenges they face.

I hope this site is a benefit to those who lead IT departments.

thanks

Dave Hodgson, January 1, 2012