DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
customer experience , identify efficiencies and enable data-driven decisions . They can also reimagine business models and processes , solve problems and create revenuegenerating streams , further highlighting their worth ,” he continued .
The IT leadership void It is becoming clear that the need for IT leadership at every tier of the organisation is becoming imperative for business . Ryan Sutton , a district president with IT staffing firm , Robert Half Technology , says organisations want leadership skills in their CIOs as well as require leadership traits throughout the IT department , especially those in agile and DevOps .
However , Erica Dawson , the Nancy & Bob Selander Director of Engineering Leadership Programmes and creator of the Technology Leadership certificate from Cornell University , added that opportunities for IT workers to build leadership skills had been limited compared to those available to other professionals .
“ First of all , people with tech backgrounds and tech training don ’ t fit the stereotype of a brainiac who doesn ’ t get along with people . But with the nature of the training they get , the people who work in high tech don ’ t have the same training experiences they might get with an MBA program or another type of education ,” she says .
Dawson thinks IT professionals have an increasing need for leadership skills and explains they are not merely fixing technology issues but rather they ’ re solving complex people problems using technology .
“ We all have a stake in people with tech skills having more leadership skills because tech is so interwoven into the work we do today . It is no longer segregated ”, she added .
44 October 2021