10/26/2015

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Becoming a Successful Technology Manager

Diane Graves and Gene Spencer

THE ISSUES WE FACE

A DISCUSSION

THE ISSUES WE FACE – A DISCUSSION

Being promoted from within

I’m new to HigherEducation

I’m a newmanager

How do I managethis technology?

Personnel Problems!!!

Need to managemy boss (and up)

I Hate Being a Manager

We need morepeople/money/etc.

What does it taketo build my team?

Managing highly technical staff

What’s wrong withthis project?

Strategies forcommunication

Managing Change

Setting campusexpectations

Why don’t customersunderstand?

Staying proactivevs. reactive

Delegating and Managing my time

Professionaldevelopment

Panacea

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I’M A NEW MANAGER

• And now for something completely different!

• Leading a technology organization has little to do with technology, and everything to do with people!

• Why?

PROMOTED FROM WITHIN

• Seems like leading “your team” should be easier!• How will you gain respect?• What tone will you set?• Your new job is to…

• What will be your leadership style?

• What needs to change?

• How can you honor what is/was good?

• How will you create urgency for change?

• What will you do differently today? Tomorrow?

NEW TO HIGHER EDUCATION

• Many of you come from outside of Higher Ed.

• But, Higher Ed. is DIFFERENT

• Why?• How will you respond?

• What is critical to your success?

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NEED TO MANAGE MY BOSS

How can you:• Create options?

• Find win-win scenarios?

How do you get your boss to invest in your success?

How do you convince him/her that you are committed to his/her success?

STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATION

• When people say “it’s a failure of communication”, who are they thinking about?

• What are the critical factors to good communication?

• Why do failures occur?

• How do communication

styles play a role?

SETTING CAMPUS EXPECTATIONS

What’s the right approach?

Under Promise and Over Deliver?

— or —

Aim High and See

How Close We Can Get?

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HOW DO I MANAGE TECHNOLOGY?

• What does it mean to “manage IT”?

• What is our scope and our role?

• Is your job technology or solutions?

• How do we negotiate the gaps?

PERSONNEL PROBLEMS!!!

• No one comes to work thinking “I’m going to screw up today!”

• What motivates our colleagues?

• How do we gain their support?

• Can HR help?

• Don’t delay the inevitable – if someone isn’t going to make it as a part of your organization, they will be happier somewhere else!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD MY TEAM?

What does the group need to succeed?• What is our mission - what we need to accomplish?

• What is our vision of the future?

• What do we value as a team?

• How will we work together?

• Do we have the right skills and capabilities?

• How do we make the most of our opportunity?

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MANAGING HIGHLY TECHNICAL STAFF

Gross Generalization!• Geeks think differently…

• What’s important to them?

• How do they see the world?

• Am I still one?

• What can we do to bridge that gap?

WHY DON’T CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND?

• How do you feel when you receive good service?

• What will the customer perceive as good service?

Help Desk

• Lack of key resources can be a problem.

• More resources isn’t always the right answer!

• What answers are within our control?

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE/MONEY/ETC.

The 56 Geeks, by Scott Johnson

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I HATE BEING A MANAGER!

• Why is Leading So Challenging?• People have personalities• Each reacts to change differently• You cannot control other people!

• Get Real• Be yourself• Summon your

authentic core• Flex your style

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PROJECT?

Projects large and small can get derailed:• What are the root causes of success/failure?

• Who owns the project?

• What needs to be defined up front?

STAYING PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE

• Which is more fulfilling?

• Which is more productive for the institution?

• How can you change the approach of your group?

• Who do you need to convince?

• When do you start?

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DELEGATING AND MANAGING MY TIME

Getting organized is:• A quick read and a quick fix, or a life-long pursuit?

• What prevents us?

• What stops us from delegating?

• Who can change this cycle?

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• What value does your organization put on professional development on an ongoing basis?

• It is an investment for you and others

• Challenges?

MANAGING CHANGE

1. The power of one

2. Make it sticky

3. Paint a vivid picture

4. Activate peer pressure

5. Mobilize the crowd

6. Tweak the situation

7. Subtract, not just add

8. Dare to link to carrots and sticks

9. Teach and coach well10. Hire and fire base on

behaviorsTen Ways to Get People to Changeby Morten T. Hansen

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If the campus believes this is IT’s technology that

we let them use…

If the campus

believes this is their

technology that IT

manages for them…

DuPont, Bernard. "Red Flasher (Panacea Prola), Satipo, PERU." Flickr. Yahoo!, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.