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The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust; The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The managers asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. Managers have their eyes on the bottom line; leaders have their eyes on the horizon; The manager imitates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his own person. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
– Warren Bennis
Leading is different from managing. The Edge of IT is different from the Core of IT.
In a earlier post, Edge of IT, I explored the difference between Core and Edge IT functions. At the Core of IT, the mission is to continually improve repeatable processes. It is entirely possible to drive incredible efficiencies and realize much greater organizational effectiveness through exceptional management of Core IT.
At the edge, the action is about change. The action is about identifying a vision and working towards transformation of an organization. In the post noted above, Edge IT is defined as functions and services that rhyme with IT Strategy, workforce planning, financial and operational modelling, scalability and capacity planning. This is an area where leadership makes all the difference.
Where do you want to go? What is your vision of the future? How are you going to bring your future to life? These are the questions that the Edge of IT serves to answer. These are also the types of questions where leadership comes to the forefront.
The functions at the Edge of IT need you to think about the future. They are periodic and episodic in nature. The Edge functions are also mission critical. Setting the IT strategy builds the foundation or future work and drives most high level decisions. Building and refining the financial and operational models enables and liberates the IT organization, a welcome step for organizations which have not had these aspects of the organization put in place.
Change to a future state which you as the IT leader setting the direction, defining the future. For the most part Edge IT require skills which are not typically present with the workforce which takes care of the Core. For this reason, IT leaders typically bring in external advisors to aid with these functions. The reason being is simple. External advisors are specialists in these functions, and bringing this expertise to the periodic but critical Edge functions makes tremendous sense for the CIO, the IT organization, and the enterprise as a whole.
The bottom-line on Edge functions is that they are about change, the future you want to create, and your leadership skills in defining and executing to bring the future to life.
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