Service and Support, long the beaten down step-child of any industry, has taken no more public abuse and ridicule than in the world of Technology. In today’s modern internet driven society, the presumed “elite” are those who can write code, de-tangle the inner workings of a UNIX kernel, design and manage relational databases or architect a global WAN. However, when all hell breaks loose with those core technologies, who is that one person responding to a business user to take the bullet for the failure? It is the Service Professional who is dispatched to take up the challenge of facing the end user impacted by the failure.

By no fault of the industry as a whole, the relatively young business of technology has been one designed to enable the users as quickly as possible to provide the business with a technological advantage over its competition. Over the years this has meant a rapid deployment mentality which translated to throwing out all sorts of technology solutions with little thought being given to how that technology would be supported after it is in place. The result of which has been an environment cultivating a culture of reactivity.

The goal of these writings is not to address the importance of technology nor the business as the concept of Service can be applied across any industry or technology, but rather the service minded professional that is long overdue in being recognized for their contribution to every industry. The IT Service Profession however, is unique. It is a field that many feel can be performed by any person with a deeper than average interest in technology. “Do you have an email account?” “Yes.” “You’re hired.”

What is being realized as of late is that the Service-minded individual is one that not simply understands technology, but has a unique view of how it should be implemented in a manner that may be more effective than one of the core technologist or the pure business user.

A cultural shift is in the works within most technology dependent businesses today. The ability to stop viewing technology as purely a body of development and engineering elements, but also that of a third piece, which is a people driven function outside of those core roles. We all know technology breaks. It is the management of those breaks through to the restoration of business processes in which the true value player can be found….. The IT Service & Support Professional.

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.

IT Support is a vital element of any technology organization to get right. The problem is that this role’s true strength is not in core technology elements. The true value and power of an effective IT Support professional is his or her “Soft-Skills”. Communication, organization, stress management all valuable skills that are not thought of as being an essential part of a core technologist. “Can you program in C#, Java, Perl?”, “Can you setup a Raid 1 storage configuration?”, “Can you Debug a Kernel?” these are all questions that most would consider asking a technology candidate. The same questions that are posed to the individual who is expected to deal with business users and manage technology as a business partner.

Of all of the possible “Soft-Skills” needed by the IT Support professional, the most critical is the ability to communicate. Not by simply speaking to people but the art of understanding people and empathizing with people. The ability to act as translator of techno speak to a business user also helps at keeping the noise down when things don’t go as designed.

The key thing for management to always remember is that this individual does not fully operate in the business environment, but is very aware of the business goal and strategy. Nor is the role as deeply focused on core infrastructure or development areas, but again, in varying levels, is familiar with the technology employed. This is the hidden value add to both the business as well as technology. The role of IT Service Professional should never be seen as a generic, non-critical function which adds limited value to an organization. It is the role that is both the “face of technology” to the business, while being the “voice of the business” to IT.

by Rik Jones

Image by $ydney