Define Your Matrix for IT
Keep in mind that if you take an exceptional person and give them 10 things to do, you may find that little is accomplished. Give an exceptional person a few focused items to complete with a clearly expressed deadline, and you are likely to find it all gets completed. Many companies have organizational charts, but how many have a well-defined responsibility matrix?
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
~ John F. Kennedy
The Full Scoop
Originally published through the Tampa Bay Business Journal Leadership Trust
It has been said that a goal without a deadline is no more than a dream. It has also been noted that if you want to get something done, you must prioritize and eliminate the unessential. If your team has a desire to improve, you must do more than simply establish a goal. Take action, you must make intentional changes in behavior while keeping your end goal in focus. Otherwise, you will never reach the outcomes you seek and will fall far short of your desired summit.
Much has been written about deliberate practice – the idea of intentionally focusing on and improving in a specific area. If your goal is to get into better shape, simply showing up to the gym could help a little. In the end, you will likely reach a plateau in your continuous improvement. Athletes who employ deliberate practice do not necessarily work more hours than others. But, they are more deliberate in what they do during those hours. Deliberate athletes do not just show up to the gym; they focus on routines, muscle groups and tracking and measuring their progress.
Managing Complexity
Many years ago, I was employed by an organization with a variety of complex technology needs. While working on a series of IT projects, we noticed a recurring trend. The business would come up with urgent enhancement requests on a regular basis. These would be added to an ever-growing issue list. While the list would be reviewed and discussed weekly, it was a struggle to work on improving the broader system or meeting existing project deadlines for strategic initiatives.
There were at times so many requests being presented that you would forget about the less squeaky requests in favor of more urgent system issues. Or, as we liked to call them, the fire of the week. Firm deadlines and goals for completion were rarely made because there was too much being juggled and brought to the table. What happened instead was more of a game of whack-a-mole. Urgent requests seemed to fill the void in between project meetings, and delays were not uncommon. Although there was a comprehensive list of issues and requests, there was also a lack of focus and prioritization. There was no real captain at the helm. Does this sound like a place you have worked before? Does it sound like where you work now?
Urgency is the Norm
In my current business, our IT help desk receives countless requests on a consistent basis. The requests tend to be urgent in nature – and to those submitting them, especially important. The urgency of a given issue is very much dependent on the perspective of the person submitting the request. Technicians naturally want to please their constituents, and priority and strategic initiatives can fall to the wayside if you aren’t careful. There is a difference between a network outage and a question on a bill, or an offline mission-critical server and a request for a meeting to discuss a new project. To appropriately prioritize, a role must be defined to help direct traffic and ensure everyone stays in their lane.
Clear roles and responsibilities are crucial to an organization. Many companies have organizational charts, but how many have a well-defined responsibility matrix? More important than knowing who to speak with to request time off is understanding who will take care of a request and who will help to moderate and communicate decisions between your various stakeholders. To ensure that expectations are clear, it is critical to deliberately focus on ways to define roles and responsibilities that help keep employees on track and focused on strategic priorities and goals. You must strive to separate roles so that key client needs can be met by the appropriate person without distracting that individual from their ultimate objective within the organization.
Fizen™
Remember, if you take an exceptional person and give them 10 things to do, little will be accomplished. Give an exceptional person a few focused items to complete, and you are likely to find it all gets completed. Making the strategic goals of your firm a deliberate and intentional part of your daily operations will help supercharge your organization for rapid growth. Be intentional with your desired growth goals, and take advantage of the benefits of defining a responsibility matrix that is aligned with the broader strategic goals you are striving to meet.
Have questions about technology for your business? Contact us, we would love to speak with you.