This is a column I wrote for Systems Management News that I am reposting here.

Being a manager in IT is an challenging and often thankless job, but there are steps that we can take to make things better. Making things better though involves keeping multiple things in mind - the company, our team, and ourselves. To get things going in "The Savvy Manager," let's look at these components and some of the issues we should have in our thoughts.

Business-IT alignment
This topic has been getting a lot more coverage in the trade press in the last few years as companies recovered from the dot.com bust with the realization that IT is not a magic potion. We are getting more scrutiny over the work we do as IT workers, the projects we propose, and the way we spend out time. Business-IT alignment is the concept of making IT strategy and operations match with the the business's or organization's strategy and operations. A business's strategy and operations are a complex mix of issues that include everything from customers to inventory management to company policies to the cleaning staff. While you may not have control or input on IT strategy for your whole organization, you have a role in at least a part of making it align with the business. Jerry Luftman, Raymond Papt, and Tom Brier published an article several years ago that showed the results of their research into enablers and inhibitors of business-IT alignment, and you probably have a role to play in them that you may not initially realize.

• Senior executive support for IT
• IT involvement with business strategy
• IT understanding of the industry
• Partnership between IT and the rest of the business
• Good IT project priorities
• Demonstrated IT leadership
• IT meeting its commitments

Managing and leading people
Whether you are a system administrator in a small IT group or the director of a large data center, you need to be able to have some skills for managing and leading people. The days of the IT worker sitting in the basement where he or she can avoid contact with the rest of the company are long gone. As IT workers, we likely take part in groups and teams throughout the company that might be purely IT people or consist of people from varying aspects of the business. Being able to manage relationships within an organization is an important skill to have especially when the economy is struggling. This area is probably the least IT-specific except when it comes to leading and managing other IT people. IT workers are a different sort of worker in that their work is very cerebral and knowledge-based. People working in the IT area are also almost always thirsty for new knowledge and skills and can get bored in jobs where they do not have opportunities to learn new things.

Personal development
Looking at these other two areas should tell you where you might have gaps in skills or knowledge. We are usually pretty good at identifying the technical areas where we need improvement, but the other areas can be more difficult. If the concepts of return on investment, profit and loss statements, or double-entry accounting are unfamiliar or hazy at best, you might consider taking a course on business administration at the local college or university. If you consider yourself more of the introverted type, then getting more involved in company activities or doing some self-assessment might reveal ways for you to improve your people skills. These and other areas could be vital for the success of your career. Having a personal professional development plan is as important as any project plan you make because it gives you a guide on what you want to do and a means to measure yourself along the way.

Being a savvy manager
That's some pretty heavy stuff, and there are countless books, magazines, and consultants covering each of those areas. In "The Savvy Manager," I'll be sharing my ideas, thoughts, and experiences in each of these areas so that we can all be better managers and leaders in our organizations. If you face a particular problem, have an idea, or would like to read about a specific topic, feel free to shoot me a message here or through my blog. I am always more than happy to try to help a peer which is why I write what I do.