Review By: Andrew L. Pollner
03/10/2003

This book provides much-needed guidance for anyone who has responsibility over information technology staff, which may include developers, testers, system administrators, database architects, and others whose role it is to design, create, maintain, or support these systems. Although much of what it covers can be applied to management of non-IT staff, the authors have done an admirable job of applying these concepts toward IT-centric environments.

What makes management of IT staff so very different from conventional management? This is explained throughout the twelve chapters, beginning with “The Value of Technical Leadership” and concluding with “A Plan of Action.” In each chapter, the authors explain each premise, define its key attributes, provide exercises for the reader, and conclude with a summary, lessons learned, and an action plan. The many exercises allow the reader to draw on personal experiences and see how each topic can be of value in this context.

Alchemy, with the elements of salt, sulfur, and mercury, is used as a metaphor throughout the book. Salt symbolizes crystallization and condensation—slow growth from within and independence. This principle is used to measure the success of a leader. Sulphur is depicted as an expansive force that creates new results when combined with other things, in the same way that an IT leader must act in a collaborative manner to be most effective. Mercury represents integration, and tempers the extremes of salt and sulfur, much like IT leadership requires different reactions to each unique opportunity.

IT Leadership Alchemy reminds us of how important it is to keep our sights on where we need to go. Focusing on failure can derail us and make us indeed fail in the same way that while driving, focusing on distractions on the side of the road can cause one to steer toward them.

The fact that “people leave bosses, not companies” provides a sobering wake-up call to managers who are truly looking to keep employees. Nurturing these relationships is key to productivity and employee satisfaction.

True leadership comes from within—one’s true character needs to come out to be authentic. This character is based on our personal values, purpose, and vision, and each leader combines these traits into a unique style. Interpersonal skills are key to working effectively with IT professionals as their priorities often differ from that of management or business users due to the technical nature of their job. Trust, managing conflict, a sense of caring or concern, shared goals, and valuing/respecting differences all contribute to effective employee relationships, productivity, and job satisfaction.

Coaching covers those areas that can help align staff toward goals. The book describes techniques that help assess an individual’s behavioral predisposition. DISC and PIAV behavioral assessment techniques are used to explain how to jump-start a coaching relationship.

One area where many IT professionals fall short is in pleasing the customer. This is mostly due to a misconception about the customer’s needs and priorities. An entire chapter is devoted to customer-orientation and how to recognize and understand customer perceptions.

IT people love to solve problems, but their approach to understanding the problem is often narrow. Teaching IT staff to understand the underlying customer issues and priorities through better questions can lead to greater satisfaction for each. Techniques for asking better questions and making effective use of meeting times are discussed in the book.

Effective leadership skills also require effective project skills, and these can be supplemented by project management software. This book provides an overview and explanation of Gantt charts, critical path, and other resources.

Having a vision is a very powerful way to ensure the success of a project. It provides focus on what activities need to occur, and the inspiration and energy to get them done, while hope guides one toward achieving that end.

All of this information culminates in the final chapter, “A Plan of Action.” This is the final self assessment, the opportunity to recall all the helpful hints, advice, and best practices, and choose to incorporate these as an effective IT Leader.

The book is a valuable reference work to help you remember the many points to successfully manage and motivate IT staff. Although many books on management and leadership exist, this is one of the few that focus on IT. Key elements include understanding what motivates IT staff as well as the customer experience.

Although the alchemy paradigm is used throughout, I didn’t think that it helped conceptualize or understand the material. However, for some readers, it may assist as the thread that keeps the topics together.

IT can mean many things to different organizations, from internal computer support to commercial software development. Not all topics apply to all situations, yet this is a book that easily allows the reader to skip around to identify relevant topics.

While many books can be read passively, this one allows and expects the reader to become involved through probing questions found in each chapter’s “Exercise” sections. This is the first step toward identifying what one is currently doing. The book then provides the many suggestions and techniques for improvement.

I would recommend this book for anyone in either a leadership role, or a role that requires interaction with managers, technical staff, or business users.