Leadership Skills for IT Managers – 10 Things Learned at Grid International Training

Last week I spent four days sequestered at a leadership training seminar put on by Grid International.  Off-sites are often a mixed blessing for IT managers.  On the one hand it can be a great relief to get some time away from meetings and the day to day routine. On the other hand, work can accumulate.  On this particular training I was looking forward to enjoying the conference center’s pool, hot tub and nature trails.  That turned out to be overly optimistic with days starting at 8am and continuing to 10pm or later.

Our facilitators Clark Robinson and Rachel McKee worked us hard.

Would I recommend Grid Training?

Without hesitation.  This seminar was one of those rare off-sites which provide perspective and insights not easily gained in any other way.  I plan to seek ways to incorporate Grid seminars into my future work with PMOs and IT teams, and would encourage you to consider taking the training for yourself.

Grid Training in 25 Words or Less

From the Grid website:
Grid International (formerly Scientific Methods) was founded in 1961 by Dr. Robert R. Blake and Dr. Jane S. Mouton, two world-renowned, pioneering behavioral scientists specializing in professional training and organization development…Grid’s management and leadership training approach is unlike any other…True, lasting, and meaningful change is affected only by addressing the fundamental values and attitudes that influence behavior.¹

What I Learned

Here are some of what I personally learned at Grid Leadership Training.

1.  Shared Vision Makes The IT World Go Round

Do you remember your most rewarding work experiences to date?  For most of us, these are times when we are focused with others on a shared, clear, achievable goal.

In this training, our group of 5 people from 4 different companies had to find ways to discover and use our individual skills to produce better results than we would have had alone.  The experience was exhilarating for me.  It reminded me of how much I enjoyed working at CTi.  I’ve recommitted myself to creating these types of experiences for my present and future teams.

2.  Self-Delusion Will Hinder or Destroy Your Best Change Efforts

One of the goals of the Grid training to provide accurate and constructive feedback on how our leadership style is perceived by others.  This type of feedback is not easy to receive. Leaders often perceive themselves as more effective than they really are.

Grid International collects anonymous self-assessment results.  At the start of each seminar, about 72% of participants rate themselves as highly effective with both people and results.  This carries across industries and countries.  From this you can assume that 3/4 of your stakeholders believe that they are doing just fine as they are.  Unless you can demonstrate to them in language that they can receive how their actions as leaders are contributing to the issue or issues that you are trying to address, it is unlikely that your change efforts will result in long term success.

It’s interesting to note that after the Grid training, only about 20% rate themselves as excellent with both relationships and results.

3.  Two Project Managers on One Team Can Create Both Friction and Synergy

As an effective project manager, it’s easy to start thinking that my way is the best way.  In reality there are as many different styles as there are project leaders.  In our group, I came face to face with my own powerful drive to have things done in the best way (read: my way).  It’s quite a revelation to realize that I’m not always as easy going as I like to believe!

Working through these issues openly at the seminar allowed both of us to join our very different styles in a way that greatly strengthened the options available to the group.

4.  Candor Needs To Be Consciously Developed

If you want your team members to trust you and to share information (good and bad) and ideas (to make things better), then it is up to you to model and create the environment in which such risk taking is rewarded and not punished.

5.  Conflict On A Team is Neutral

The issue is not whether there is conflict in your group.  (Hint: there is.)  The real issue is what happens with it.

Many of us in IT are uncomfortable with the expression of conflict. The tendency is often to ignore it, or cut it off immediately.  These actions push it underground where it either festers or comes out through gossip or in other destructive ways.

The best teams find ways to create cultures in which conflict may be openly expressed and resolved.  This improves both the results and the relationships on the team.

6.  The Organization’s Culture Has A Great Influence on Our Behavior

Dilbert, Office Space and The Office resonate because they’re more real than not.  If you don’t want to become a caricature, it’s up to you to identify the ways in which your office culture is part of the problem, and use your resources to create strategies to correct or at least mitigate them.

7.  Part of Me is Still Waiting for Someone Wise To Direct My Career

This hurt me to recognize about myself.  How about you?  Are you waiting for The Man to take care of you?  Get over it.  Those days are well over.

I’ll be working on this one over the next months.

8.  My Greatest Satisfaction Comes From Helping Teams and Companies Gain Focus and Commitment

9.  Unexpected Change Is Destabilizing For Most People.

Perhaps not an earthshaking revelation.  But let me ask you this – how are you helping your team function to the best of their ability in the midst of everthing that is going on in your organization and industry?

The loss of perspective resulting from sudden and unexpected change can interrupt productivity and results on all projects.

10.  My Behavior Has a Strong Influence on Others

I tend to operate from the belief that my actions have little impact.  Do you share this view?

What we do as leaders has as much impact as what we say.  To be most effective it is crucial that we know our personal values and strive to live in accordance with them in all areas.

Next Steps

If you have any questions about the Grid training, you can contact Clark Robinson at (800) 288-4743.

Wish you well,
Alec

1. Detailed information is available at www.gridinternational.com. [↩]

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