Information technology (IT) is increasingly complex and changes quickly. Successful IT professionals constantly pursue technical training in order to keep up with technological change. They have to be smart, flexible, and committed. They value technology training because without it, they could not deliver the solutions business leaders need. The high pace of technological change, however, leaves little time for leadership development training. As a result, many IT professionals are promoted into leadership positions based on their technical performance, not on their leadership ability. An unintended consequence of this practice may be ineffective performance of IT teams.
Without leadership at the team level, IT and other business executives are at risk of being unable to obtain the information they need to make critical decisions. This risk often occurs because many IT professionals tend to enjoy interfacing with computers rather than interacting with people. However, if people are not involved, often the results are IT projects that are late, are over budget, and do not meet performance requirements. Additionally, many IT team members feel managers may not be interested in their future careers and individual needs, which leads to lack of staff retention and the need to hire others with specialized IT skills. Leadership is required to motivate team members to provide the intense effort required to develop, deliver, and support IT solutions.
I was thrilled when Byron Love approached me about writing this book. Byron has over 31 years of IT experience that ranges from writing code on mainframes in the 1980s to leading large IT programs today. He has had the opportunity to take world-class technical and leadership training from the US Air Force. As one of the few people in the world who have both the PMI®’s PgMP® certification and the (ISC)2 CISSP® certification, he is uniquely qualified to address the topic of IT leadership. He is a geek who has learned to be a leader, and his book in turn helps people recognize the importance of geek leadership.
IT Project Management: A Geek’s Guide to Leadership fills the leadership void for IT professionals. It provides detailed coverage of leadership, communications, followership, personal credibility, and self-development concepts to address the specific leadership challenges IT professionals face. To me, this book is interesting because it incorporates engaging business fables and stories to demonstrate the IT leadership concepts he describes.
This book further provides IT professionals the tools they need to become more effective leaders, followers, and communicators. But they are not the only people who can benefit from this book:
• Human resources professionals can use this book to create leadership development programs for IT professionals.
• Companies that provide professional development services can use this book to provide IT leadership training for their clients.
• Business leaders, working with IT professionals, can develop more effective technical solutions and services to meet their specific requirements, and they can help IT professionals advance in their fields.
IT Project Management: A Geek’s Guide to Leadership is not only a joy to read, it is also an excellent reference for IT practitioners challenged with the complexities of leading teams and engaging stakeholders. Ensure that the IT professionals in your organization read this book and apply its concepts so your organization can benefit from IT leadership at every level!
Ginger Levin, DPA, PgMP®, PMP®