The association had their own building.  He had a corner office on the top floor – wall-to-wall windows on two sides that were nearly floor-to-ceiling, with a great view.  Nice big conference table right in his office.  The kitchen was a couple floors down, but, hey, maybe they could move that.

Anyway, everything’s rosy, right?  Lots of challenges, but we always have those in IT:  The association management system (AMS) was on the cusp of a major upgrade (huge – the vendor was even completely re-titling the product), and there were some staff currency/training issues.  Ah, those are routine – always someone who needs this class or that, or a boot to get current.

But over the first weeks and months he discovered something very bad:  The “senior” programmer… um… didn’t do anything.  I mean, she didn’t do anything… IT related.  Oh, she had her routine.  She floated around the building, making her rounds and chatting.  She attended meetings.  She contributed in the sense that she always had an opinion – generally not worth anything, but she liked to sound officious.

What was happening was that she passed any work that came to her, to a junior programmer – always the same guy.  This man was very milquetoast, and didn’t speak up.  He was overloaded, but he suffered on, afraid to speak up.  How long had this been going on?  My colleague couldn’t know, but he knew that the senior programmer’s skills had completely atrophied to the point where she literally couldn’t contribute in the modern environment.

The IT Director did what any responsible supervisor would do:  He counseled the senior programmer.  He directed her to schedule herself for training.  When she didn’t, he selected an initial course, and directly told her to enroll in it.  She didn’t.  He then talked to his boss about things, and was told to “handle it.”  Next step?

The timing yielded an opportunity to document things in a formal review – it was due.  He drafted things very carefully, and overall, the review was quite accurate – but generally negative.  It had to be if it was going to be a true review.  He was directed by the Deputy Executive Director of the organization (the #2 person) to re-write it.  He did so under protest.  It still had a mild version of the need for training, and stepping up, and making a more robust contribution.  But it really wasn’t motivating.  She did not change.

Why change?  She had political cover, as it turns out, in the organization.  It also turned out that she had wanted the IT Director position.  She felt it was her due, and that she had been denied.

After enough time had passed to make his resume look good, my colleague left the organization – for a better org, a better position, and a better salary.

Meantime, the organization suffered a situation whereby their in-house programmers could not keep up with the AMS, its mods, and its progressions.  The org also lagged in its infrastructure upgrades.  The Network Manager, a great asset, left and was replaced with a lesser person.  Other quality personnel left, women and men of character and quality,who were difficult to replace…

Their IT shop is now pretty lousy.  It’s propped up with expensive outside counsel and support players.

One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.  To the senior executive class, directors, managers, supervisors:  Rate fairly, accurately, and ferret out those who do not serve.

Lead by example, and hold those you rate accountable.  Praise and promote those who are due.

Maintaining and balancing an IT department and its service to business is not always easy, but it is absolutely necessary.

Way back in my youth, I was enamored of qualification by way of “rubber meets the road” experience.  I was a lack-luster student and formal education was a bit of a challenge for me, so I was convinced that formal education didn’t need to be too heavily weighted in establishing a nice foundation of knowledge, paired with experience.

At one point, someone told me that I was “anti-education.”  No so… not even then.  I waz educated gooder than most any body around me.  (Ok, that was a little obvious, but if I made just one person laugh today, it was worth it).

However, many miles down the road, well-educated and well-qualified (I hope), I am now starting to notice something around me:  A difficulty in finding talented, educated, qualified, IT folks.  People possessing good judgment paired with sound skills.  I can’t afford to be picky regarding the ratio of education vis-à-vis actual experience:  Just send me someone who can do the job.

A campus of a major university where I’ve been doing some IT consulting doesn’t even have an IT program.  That’s very disappointing. 

And now, an Obama administration official has gone on record as saying that unemployment is exacerbated by people’s lack of education and skills.  My own political leanings might normally have me countering someone like this person:  However, I think she has a point.  In my local surroundings, I’m hearing innumerable business leaders lament the dismal talent pool.  I don’t have a formal survey or empirical figures, but it’s not their imagination, nor mine.  Things are changing, and not for the better.

How do you feel about it?  What are the challenges for you in an increasingly technical environment – for both business and IT?

I have a few ideas for improvement which I’ll share over the next few days…