the Awesome Highlighter

I have come to realize that perfectly healthy groups with solid, well-adjusted IT pros can and will devolve, slowly and quietly, into the behaviors that give rise to the stereotypes, given the right set of conditions. It turns out that it is the conditions that are stereotypical, and the IT pros tend to react to those conditions in logical ways. To say it a different way, organizations actively elicit these stereotypical negative behaviors.   remove

for IT groups respect is the currency of the realm   remove

The amount of respect an IT pro pays someone is a measure of how tolerable that person is when it comes to getting things done, including the elegance and practicality of his solutions and suggestions   remove

populated by people skilled in creative analysis and ordered reasoning   remove

IT pros will prefer a jerk who is always right over a nice person who is always wrong   remove

I believe you can predict success or failure of an IT group simply by assessing the amount of mutual respect within it.   remove

Ego, as it plays out in IT, is an essential confidence combined with a not-so-subtle cynicism.   remove

Strong IT groups view correctness as a virtue   remove

When things don't add up, they are prone to express their opinions on the matter, and the level of response will be proportional to the absurdity of the event   remove

So when the rules are loose and logical and supervision is results-oriented, supportive and helpful to the process, IT pros are loyal, open, engaged and downright sociable   remove

They believe they are protecting the organizatio   remove

IT pros would prefer to make a good decision than to get credit for it.   remove

With IT, you cannot separate the technical aspects from the business aspects.   remove

Creativity is the most valuable asset of an IT group, and failing to promote it can cost an organization literally millions of dollars.   remove

The primary task of any IT group is to teach people how to work.   remove

Executives expect expert advice from the top IT person, but they have no way of knowing when they aren't getting it. Therein lies the problem.   remove

Take an interest. IT pros work their butts off for people they respect, so you need to give them every reason to afford you some.   remove

So, if your IT group isn't at the table for the hiring process of their bosses and peers   remove

Favor technical competence and leadership skills   remove

What IT pros want in a manager is a technical sounding board and a source of general direction.   remove

early reviews are worthless without a 360-degree assessment.   remove

In IT, six months to a year is all that stands between respect and irrelevance.   remove

But you'll never even know if that's the case if the only information you receive is from the CIO   remove