Change

As it nears the end of the year, it seems appropriate for the Tuesday Reading to turn to the future.  In “A Roadmap for IT Leadership and the Next Ten Years” <http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0626.pdf> Tim Chester, CIO at Texas A&M at Qatar, argues that the future requires that CIOs and other IT leaders become technology advocates and not leaders of technology mechanics.  So, take a deep breadth, sit back and think carefully about your technology leadership role in the coming years.

In “Making Strategy That Sticks", Susan Cramm points out that all too often when we develop a strategy, we focus on getting the right content rather than getting the right commitment.  She writes:  ”The acid test of strategy is whether it informs and constrains decision making by compelling leaders to align their functional goals and day-to-day decision making to the goals of the enterprise.  The only way to accomplish this is through communication and collaboration.  The process of aligning people’s hearts and mind

 John Baldoni, in “Questions to Make You a Better Leader” argues that asking good questions is a practice that all leaders need to have.  He suggests five:

1.  What about your work motivates you?  If it’s not motivating, what can you do about it?  What changes can you make to increase satisfaction?

2.  What challenges are facing your organization?

We all like to be treated with appropriate respect and consideration as we go through the several roles we have each day.  And, we bemoan the fact that in the fast-paced world we find ourselves in even the most basic decencies such as saying "hello" and "goodbye," or remembering and using the names of people we interact with often drop by the wayside.  In "Building Effective Corporate Cultures One Decency at a Time"  <

In this piece, Becoming a Change Leader, May 8, 2007 CIO  <http://www.cio.com/article/108351/Becoming_a_Change_Leader>,  Maya Townsend, founder and principal consultant of Partnering Resources, introduces four key factors which she argues are crucial to successful change initiative

Today's reading the "The 'Pull Leadership' Manifesto" by Stever Robbins, founder and president of LeadershipDecisionworks.  This piece from the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Archives caught my eye because of its thesis:  "We need leaders who inspire others to follow, who engender loyalty."  Robbins calls this "pull" leadership and then goes on to identify twelve key characteristics of pull leadership:  Pull leaders

1.    Create social systems that inspire people to join.

2.    Take responsibility.

This week we return to Rick Brenner's Chaco Canyon newsletter for the column "Asking Brilliant Questions".  Throughout the leaders program we encourage participants to ask questions:  You do that as you are being present, you do it in meetings to draw out information from your colleagues, you do that as you coach.  In this column, Rick suggests seven types of questions you may find helpful as you work to move projects forward. 

Have a great week.  .  .  .  .     jim

David Storm, in the January 2007 issue of InformationWeek calls our attention to "Five Disruptive Technologies to Watch in 2007". 

Who's Sorry Now?

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16816&ch=infotech