Solving IT’s identity crisis

Identity is a surprisingly complex issue in today’s world. Battles over political identities, confusion and activism regarding gender identities, and a surfeit of identity crises dominate headlines and social discourse. As such, fellow futurist Francis Fukuyama, author of Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, insists that “Identity is a hallmark of our age.”

Make no mistake, IT has an identity as well, and its identity is more elusive and value impacting than even many CIOs typically believe.

Professionally I have spent a lot of time with healthcare CIOs, who I have found to be passionately and authentically committed to patient service. As I age and parts of my personal health system fall out of warranty, I find myself much too frequently interacting with a wide variety of white coat wearing clinicians. When I ask these healthcare front-liners about IT, I am surprised when they respond, “IT deals with contracts. We deal with patients.”

Seems like an identity disconnect to me — and one emblematic of IT organizations across the spectrum of industries, including yours.

IT identity defined

Discussions with IT leaders have revealed to me that IT identity comprises three critical components: Thinking, Talking, and Doing. Maintaining the right balance of these foundational identity elements is essential to value creation.

Identity may begin as a label we apply to ourselves and to others. Philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Paul Ricoeur suggest that identity emerges through narration — that is, we define ourselves through the telling of stories. Storytelling is how we represent ourselves to ourselves, present ourselves to others, and represent others around us. This is the Talking part of IT identity.

However, CIO/IT identity isn’t simply a case of saying, “This is who I am/This is who we are.” Gone are the days of Popeye the Sailor declaring, “I yam what I yam.” A CIO’s identity cannot be created by individual fiat.

Are we managing the stories we tell about ourselves? Are we aware of the stories that key stakeholders tell about us?

This is another lens through which IT’s identity is defined.

Converging storylines

Of course, the “IT Story” must be written before it can be told. This is the Thinking part of IT identity. Ideally, a great deal of Thinking precedes any resource-intensive IT activity. You have to research and plan a book before you can write it.

Bridging the gap between Thinking (read: planning) and Doing (read: implementing) is a major IT identity challenge. If you compare Brigadier General Haywood Hansell Jr. and General Curtis LeMay in James M. Scott’s Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb, you see clearly the demarcation between military leaders being perceived as either “staff” planners or fighting generals. In much the same way, CIOs are frequently pigeonholed as being either strategists or implementers.

Perhaps one of the most important and challenging categories of CIO/IT identity is relatability. By this I mean, does the CIO/IT directly and positively impact a stakeholder’s day-to-day existence? As one agriculture-business CIO eloquently put it, “We have to be perceived as aggressively digging our fingers into the soil of our stakeholders’ immediate predicament.”

Addressing the “worries and woes” of multiple stakeholders with finite resources continues to be a huge challenge for CIO/IT identity. Somehow the CIO and IT has to weave/link their story with the stories of each and every stakeholder. Very few governance mechanisms have succeeded in doing this.

Another critical category of CIO/IT identity is clarity. Is the CIO/IT perceived as the place to go for clarity on issues? Does the CIO/IT have an understandable handle on the true cost of the various technological initiatives operating in the enterprise?

Mastering the trifecta

The good news is that a rich, robust ecosystem exists to assist CIOs to master each part of the Identity Trifecta. Academics, advisory boards, consultancies, and research firms are ready and willing to augment and amplify the Thinking part of IT value creation.

There is no shortage of communication experts standing by to help CIOs get their story out. After the US Presidential election, you might be able to pick up a campaign manager or two at affordable prices.

Regarding Doing, I always defer to actual CIOs who have impeccable records of delivering on-time, on-budget, and at expectations. Cheryl Smith, CIO emeritus at Keyspan, West Jet, and McKesson, has written the must-read Doing book: The Day Before IT Transformation: 35 technology leadership practices for transforming IT.

Embracing the Thinking, Talking, and Doing Trifecta is the path to a high-value future.