Power, Politics, and Partnership:
Strategies for Information Quality Leaders
October 2009: Originally published in IDQ Newsletter Vol 5 Issue 4
Maureen Clarry
Introduction
In the July 2009 issue of the Information and Data Quality Newsletter, I described some common dysfunctional “systemic” patterns that occur in organizations. Information quality organizations are certainly not immune to this phenomenon.
This article explores the “Top” space and strategies for leaders of information quality initiatives.
If you’re a manager, director, vice president, or in some “Top” position relative to your information quality initiative, who is responsible for the success of your team and/or organization? Most of you will probably respond, “That’s easy, we all are – after all, I can’t do it myself!” Good answer. In practice, however, research shows that people in a managerial or leadership role regularly take on too much responsibility for the success of their areas, and this predictable behavior has its consequences. Those at the top of the “system” -- whether we define the system as being an information quality initiative, a task force, a division, or even the entire organization -- often feel burdened, exhausted, and overwhelmed. What’s worse, their behavior may be limiting the success of their team.
As noted in last quarter’s article, the behavior of “sucking up responsibility” is a common and predictable response to the complexity and responsibility inherent in the “Top” space. To be clear, this behavior isn’t an explicit choice; rather it is almost a reflexive response. While understandable, this type of coping behavior is not the path that will lead to the greatest success. No matter how skilled and experienced you are, your results will be improved if you can tap the creativity and commitment of your entire team.
The Strategies at-a-glance
- Informing
- Involving
- Structuring
- Reducing differences
- Developing
- Building relationships
The strategies described in this article will help you to do just that, but first a note of caution. Ultimately, you can’t empower others; each individual must make the choice between being truly engaged and challenged in their work or being passive and lackadaisical. However, that doesn’t let you, as a leader, off the hook. It is in your best interest and the interest of the system to create the conditions that enable others to take responsibility.
Strategies for IQ Leaders
Informing
Share high-quality information about the system. After all, it’s difficult to feel responsible for a system you don’t see or understand. Hold regular meetings where relevant information, such as goals, challenges, metrics, feedback, etc., are explained and monitored.
Spend time explaining and sharing the company strategic plan and/or the information quality strategy. Create a line of sight for your team between what they do each day and the larger organizational goals. If you are a manager of managers, hold them accountable for creating line-of-sight for their teams. Helping your team see how they contribute to the success of the larger organization is a powerful motivator for increased responsibility.
Involving
Involve others in BIG issues. Research shows that the bigger the issue, the more likely we are to suck it up to ourselves. While this may seem like the wise course, think about the message it sends – either that your people aren’t capable of handling these issues or that you don’t trust them. Another implication is that they don’t gain the experience and skills they would need to eventually handle tough issues. So, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Are there BIG issues where you could use some help? Creating an Information Quality Roadmap? Working with a difficult constituency? Consider creating a process where you don’t just “dump” challenging projects on others, but rather one where you set stretch goals and remain a committed coach in the process. You’ll be reducing your burden, building your bench strength, and creating commitment and responsibility in your team.
Structuring
A powerful way to get and keep your team aligned is to create an enrolling vision for the initiative, one that goes beyond defining what currently exists to creating a picture of what it can become. An enterprise-wide vision is no substitute for one that is tailored to your team or initiative. Involving as many of your team members as possible in the visioning will create engagement and energy around the end product. A vision is simply a picture of a desired future state.
Start by discussing the following questions:
- What will it look like if our IQ program and projects are accomplished?
- What will be happening with our business?
- What will our customers be saying about us?
- What will management be saying about us?
- What will our peers be saying about us?
- What will our slogan be?
- How will we feel?
To give the vision a life beyond words on a page, allow “praise and brag” time at some of your meetings where people recount stories of how they saw their teammates live out the vision. These stories begin to re-define “what it takes to be successful around here.” This is a brief, often-used definition of culture, so by allowing time for this simple step, you are literally reshaping the culture of your team. To get the ball rolling, ask two or three trusted staff members to catch people doing the right thing and bring their stories to the meeting.
Reducing Differences
Reducing the differences between those at the top of the organization and the front-line team is another potent way to show employees that they are valued and their contribution is critical. After all, it’s difficult to feel responsible for a system where there are major differences between workers and management in terms of perks, treatment, and culture.
Developing
While training in technical skills is a good investment, there are a myriad of soft skills that can help your team take more responsibility for success. Group problem solving, communication and conflict management, facilitation, change management, and systems thinking are critical skills that enable others on your team to step into leadership roles.
Building Relationships
Another good investment is taking time to build relationships with your team. It’ll be easier for people to get behind you and support you if they feel some connection to who you are and what you’re about. This doesn’t need to be overtly personal information – share information about how you see the team living up to the vision, or share some of the obstacles the team faces and solicit their input. Where feasible, let them in on new developments and provide context that will help them understand the necessity for the change. In short, create the narrative of what’s happening in the larger organization and industry.
Conclusion
While these strategies may not be perceived as directly relevant to information quality, they are an integral part of your work as an information quality leader; your ability to create an environment where all members can feel responsible is critical to the success of your organization.
© 2009 CONNECT: The Knowledge Network
About the Author
Maureen Clarry is the Founder and President/CEO of CONNECT: The Knowledge Network (CONNECT), a consulting firm that addresses both the technical and human dimensions critical to balancing long term and short term business objectives. CONNECT was recognized as the South Metro Denver Small Business of the Year and has been listed in the Top 50 Women-Owned Businesses and the Top 100 Privately-Owned Businesses in Colorado.
Maureen also participates on the Data Warehousing Advisory Board for The Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. She has been on the faculty of The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) since 1997 and regularly consults, writes, and teaches on organizational and leadership issues related to information technology and business. Maureen can be reached at mclarry [AT] connectknowledge [dot] com or by phone at +1 (303) 730-7171.