ITSM Uncovered

1. Don't Abuse Delegation
2. Support and Protect
3. Understand the Consequences
4. Listen and Learn
5. Champion Champions
6. Be Firm But Fair
7. Listen
8. P.O.T.S. (Part Of The Solution)
9. Teach and not lecture
10. Never forget... Its NOT all about you!

When it comes to barriers in adopting ITIL as a means of managing a technology operation efficiently, it is often said that obtaining buy in from leadership is a "must have" or the "key to success." I want to dive into that for a second with some possibly outlandish observations.

In most organizations there are usually three different layers or tiers within a technology organization; Leadership/Upper-management, Middle Management and the Operational layer. Like almost anything with three layers, the outer layers are usually firm and designed to absorb what comes at them from the outside. For leadership/upper-management their role is pretty clear. Deal with the business, budget and branding of technology. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have the day-to-day operational teams. These are the lower echelon of the organization who have developed a clear understanding of their role as well; the Business, Bullets and Bullsh*t.

When it comes to any change in the way any organization operates, it is usually mandated by the top layer, and implemented at the lower layer. Where it is driven from, in any successful implementation of not just ITIL but any mission, should be at that middle layer. It is at this layer where I believe success or failure lives and I don't make this comment lightly.

Having spent 8 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and a Sergeant, I can tell you first hand that the success or failure of any unit's mission lies squarely on the shoulders of its Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. That Middle Management layer of the Military, also referred to as "the back-bone" - The Sergeants, Staff-Sergeants and Petty-Officers, is where true change is managed and effected. It is where the Orders or Goals are received, interpreted, planned for and executed.

Now I am not suggesting that every business middle management layer operate like the Military. What I am saying, is that without middle-management buy-in and acceptance, any implementation of ITIL or any other endeavor will generally fail. Often what we see is Leadership or Upper Management attends a conference about ITIL or some other framework, becomes sold on the talking points, returns with the mission to have those benefits within their own organizations. They are essentially setting the goals of the organization. In most cases, not how to achieve the goals, just that this new destination is where they want the organization to be leaving it up to middle management to sort out the delivery.

At this point is where the fear of change begins to kick in. I have been astounded to enter into organizations where many within the middle management layer had risen through the ranks in an organization where small scale process had organically grown to a point that could no longer sustain the scale of business growth. Changing the only method of operations known, strikes fear into many. Diving into a new way of thinking or operating does not always spark the passion and drive needed to move a organization into a new way of thinking. So what happens? Not a whole lot. There may be a few Overview sessions or training courses put in place, but in terms of mapping out a strategy, plan and then delivering on it proactively, there isn't the push needed. The leadership needed is stonewalled by the fear of change.

Interestingly enough, it is the operational layer that after a couple of these training or overview sessions sees the benefit of adopting a new way of operating, even if it means a certain amount of pain to get to a place where fewer things break, service is delivered faster and their daily lives move from fighting fires and being door-stops to being more proactive in finding solutions to not only make their own lives easier, but also contribute to moving the organization forward.

If you do not address the resistance of adoption at that middle management layer, you will end up with a dysfunctional and sometimes hostile environment of change. Deadlines to leadership are not management, then at the last minute it becomes another exercise in jumping through hoops at the operational layer which breeds contempt and a lack of respect for what appears to be mis-management of the organization as a whole. In-turn there is a drop in morale and, well everyone loads into the hand-basket for the trip to hell.

The self-fulfilling prophecy of failure is the responsibility of middle management. To be fair, I am not referring to all individuals in middle management, you do have your champions. The problem is, these individuals are not always put into a position to drive the movement forward. These are the believers, the visionaries, the ones who "get it." Empowering them is the key. Placing them in positions that are either directly backed by leadership with authority or given the illusion of authority will go a long way to silence the resistors in the organization.

I have to admit that I have little tolerance for those who choose to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution; call it the Sergeant in me. On the up-side however, in my position to implement two key ITIL processes I have developed the unique ability to remain 'at-ease' when I hear "Yea we know it is supposed to be like that and we will get there, just not now because it has never been done that way." Back in the day, those would have been words which called for an immediate blanket party to sort the situation out. Ooh Rah!

So my advice is this for anyone in a leadership/Upper-management position thinking about implementing ITIL or any other change that results in a significant thought process shift for the organization; Find your motivators, your proactive, open-minded individuals up front. Develop a program outside of any specific department or team, empower them, supply them with the tools and training necessary to succeed, communicate your support for them to the Organization then turn them loose and get out the way. You may be surprised how much can get done.

It seems that in the course of one’s life, there are individuals who inspire, guide, motivate and challenge you to push yourself past the realm of what you believed you were capable of achieving. You trusted them, you watched them in action, and you became dependent, without knowing, that these were the individuals who would set the bar for future “Managers” in your life. The reality is, these were not simply managers, these were the Leaders in your life.

Unfortunately, the ratio of leaders to managers is drastic. Sadly I can count on one hand the number of true leaders I have worked for. Sure, most who are in positions that carry the title of Manager like to think they are leaders, but very few understand the difference. The sad part is, that to them, being in a position to supervise other people is viewed as an entitlement to be respected, never questioned or challenged. A little term I picked up in the Marine Corps was “Blind obedience to orders.”

There are many today who have stumbled into management positions, because of what they have produced as an individual, which is commendable; through time in service, somewhat commendable; or by, lets just call it what it is, kissing ass, completely unacceptable. No matter the path, when presented with taking on the responsibility of managing people, many are ill-prepared for that challenge. As a result, they end up breaking the backs of those they ride upon.

A small part of me feels sorry for these individuals for they have and will probably never experience the joy of being a leader. Leaders experience a level of pride in watching those under their charge grow and flourish. Reward comes at them through the accomplishments of their staff. They recognize this, value this and cherish this. They reward their staff by dedicating themselves to them. If you don’t believe this, look no further than any coach at any level of sports who has a winning team. The formula is quite simple: Do any and everything for your people and they will do the same for you.

Over the next few weeks, I will be focusing on the topic of leadership. In many ways as a reminder to myself of the things that I should challenge myself to uphold. To not be swayed or frustrated by those who have not the capacity, understanding or desire to understand the responsibility or honor of leading people. I only hope I can convey the importance of this topic in my life in a way that others can validate, borrow or leverage in their own careers.

The bottom line is; Manager is a title and as such, one should never forget that a title is a title; it does not entitle one to forsake those who put you where you are.

The concept of IT Service Management accompanied with the ITIL Framework elicits many different responses from all levels of the organization. From the Management side, the general focus question is "What will it cost me?" From Middle Management it is; "How will I allocate resources?" and to the man or woman on the front lines it is "What are you thinking!?" The latter is always the voice that is often missed in communicating the benefits to the organization.

There is plenty of talk targeting the implementation of ITSM or ITIL revolving around defining business requirement to drive IT Services. Processes and steps to providing these services in the most efficient and cost effective manner is not always addressed. Even with the best intention of proactive management of IT environments to predict and support future business growth or potential weak points, communicating that is often an uphill battle day one.

These are all very valid points in delivering a true Service Management environment to any business. In order to achieve this, one area is consistently overlooked; the role of the individual. This can be attributed to the fact that unlike processes or tools, it is extremely difficult to discover, identify and document. It is the intangible element.

Processes can be defined, people can't. Many implementers, whether internal to an organization or brought in from the outside to consult on what needs to occur to improve IT Service to the Business are very versed in the tactics needed to implement any of the areas of IT Service Management. The challenge is convincing the individual that what is being proposed can inevitably make their lives easier.

Communication needs to be tailored to the hands-on audience, much in the same light as you would with Management or even Middle-Management. There is a benefit that needs to be explained to gain buy-in. Explaining the monetary benefits and ROI to senior Management is only one piece of the puzzle. Determining the most effective methods of resource management and reporting to Middle Management is also part of the critical path. Understanding and communicating the true benefit to the individuals who are tied up with daily projects, firefighting or disgruntled users must not be approached as an afterthought.
The term "Grass-Roots" is often thrown around in various seminars and case studies but there are living, breathing people who comprise this Grass-Roots element that are vital to the success in moving forward with any attempt to become a high performance organization. True leaders realize this; successful programs are ones that focus on all levels of the organization.

So what is the key? Some believe that a complete buy-in and enforcement from Senior Management by default, forces the organization to comply. This is not to say that Senior Management buy-in and commitment is not important, but to get to the goal faster, having a motivated, mobilized workforce behind the effort will accomplish tasks and milestones more effectively if the troops are made to feel as if they are part of the solution on delivering the end product.

The truth of the matter is, everyone has their processes. Some good, some bad and some definitely ugly. Nevertheless, they are processes that people put time and effort into developing to make their own contribution to the organization better. Discounting these efforts by pushing new unfamiliar process framework from the top down is not necessarily the right approach. The fact is, that people take pride in their work and are resistant to anything new or mis-branded to make their job seem inefficient.

Then there is the concern about Job security. Many only see a program on Process Improvement, standardization and enhancements, coupled with terms like improved resource management as buzz words to cut head-count. If you are in the position of deploying an IT Service Management Agenda across your organization you have to take into account the human side of the deployment and recognize what is not always being spoken.

It is critical that you provide comfort in the new processes as much as you do selling the need to enhance them. Ignoring the on-the-ground concerns in any implementation of process improvement will only result delays and push back as walls are put up in sub-conscious efforts to protect the domain of the individual. Then you have a nasty mutiny to deal with.

When defining the roles of those charged with driving these new process initiatives, give some thought to the soft-skills side of the communication process. Simply being good at translating the ITIL Framework or Service Management process in general terms is not good enough.
Being able to "dumb-down" ITIL-Speak in a way that can convey benefit and value to be digested by the organization is critical. It takes time and understanding of who you are dealing with, but this is time well spent in terms of moving the program ahead. It is always easier to form an alliance up front than to tear down walls later.