Lesson 4:

Communic
ating with
Business M
anagers

CPHN01C
Departmen
t of Comput
er Studies
 Introduction
0 The ability to communicate with the business
in business terms does not appear to be a
current IT strength.
0 Yet, despite consistent complaints business
and IT leaders alike make about how IT staff
lack business and communication skills, it
seems that many IT departments still hire
largely for technical competencies and have a
little budget available for skills development.
 Introduction
0 One of the most important skills all IT staffs
need to develop today is how to communicate
effectively in business.
0 Research has shown that if IT and business
cannot speak the same language, focus on the
same issues, and communicate constructively,
they cannot build a trusting relationship.
 Communication in the
Business-IT Relationship
0 Poor communication is a constant source of
irritation, confusion, and animosity. There are IT
staffs don’t understand organizational dynamics.
0 According to Bittler, many IT people have turned off
their business peers with too much technical jargon.
0 This is one reason why the number of IT people that
are allowed to speak with business people has been
deliberately limited in many organizations.
 Communication in the
Business-IT Relationship
0 Improving communication is increasingly
recommended as a top priority for IT
managers.
0 Several managers stated that they are working
on building communication into their annual
goals and into their expectations of staff.
 What is “Good”
Communication?
0 There is no magic formula for defining and
teaching “good” communication since it is a
complex concept that has many dimensions.
0 There are, however, some principles that are
recognized as important elements of effective
communication that can be used as guidelines
for those who wish to assess their
communication performance.
 What is “Good”
Communication?
0 Principle 1: The effectiveness of communication is
measured by its outcomes. Communication is
successful when it achieves the outcomes we desire.
However, all too often we measure communication
by out intentions rather than its outcomes.
0 “Communication is in the ear of the beholder,” and
even the most direct, clear, understandable, and
consistent message can therefore get distorted
through such filters as politics, culture, and personal
points of view.
 What is “Good”
Communication?
0 Principle 2: Communication is social
behavior. Communication not only transmits
ideas; it also negotiates relationships. Thus,
how you say what you mean is just as important
as what you say. This is an especially important
principle for IT staff to learn because, as teams
become increasingly diverse and virtual, many
of the traditional nonverbal signals that we
instinctively rely on to provide meaning are lost.
 What is “Good”
Communication?
0 Principle 3: Shared knowledge improves
communication. It is too well known that
many IT people don’t speak the language of
business. As one manager stated, “Many IT
staff think they’ve’ communicated by
explaining a technology need or a technology
decision, instead of ensuring that everyone
understands the business implications of
what’s involved.
 What is “Good”
Communication?
0 Principle 4: Mature organizations have
better communication. Although
communication is a social process, it is also
embedded within and fundamental to
organizational processes. Organizational
maturity plays a significant part in the
effectiveness of business-IT communication
because strong practices support and
reinforce good interpersonal communication.
Shared Knowledge Leads to Improved
Communication

Shared Knowledge
Increased
Communication

The Virtuous Mutual Understanding

Communication Cycle and Common Sense

Implementation
Success
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 Why is it so difficult to achieve effective business-
IT communication?
0 The principles haven’t changed much over time,
but they have often not been applied, or they have
been forgotten or ignored as busy IT managers
focus on tight timelines and major deliverables.
0 However, in addition to these considerations, some
other obstacles to effective communication can
hinder or prevent communication from occurring.
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 The changing nature of IT work. There is no
question that IT work has become more
complex overtime. Increasingly, IT staff is
intermediaries between third party contract
staff, global staff, or external stakeholders and
vendors as well as traditional business users.
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 Hiring practices. IT organizations can no
longer support smart, super-talented, but
socially disrupted people who cannot work
well with a team or with the business. IT skills
are changing to become more consultative and
collaborative.
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 IT and business organization structures. A
few years ago, many IT functions attempted to
deal with their communication problems by
creating relationship managers. These were
skilled IT individuals whose job was to bridge
the business and IT organizations and thus act
as communication conduit between the two
groups.
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 Nature and frequency of communication.
More frequent contact with business leads to
improved communication, but IT’s
communication is often so full of jargon,
techno-centric, and inappropriate that many
organizations have sought ways to limit the
amount and nature of communication
between the two groups.
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 Attitude. IT’s attitude can be a huge obstacle to
good communication. It was surprising to hear
this complaint from so many in the focus group.
IT staff think their work is about IT, they don’t
understand the delivery of business value with
technology.
0 IT staff are motivated by the desire to be right
rather than the desire to communicate
effectively
 Obstacles to Effective
Communication
0 Overcoming these obstacles will require a
combination of management attention to all
dimensions of business-IT communication
and the development of critical
communication skills in IT staff.
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Developing T-shaped IT staff addresses the
concern some in the focus group expressed
that emphasizing the development of “soft
skills” could come at the expense of the
excellent technology skills still needed by the
organization.
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff

T
0 The four Communication Skills

communication skills
form the horizontal
bar of the T for IT
professionals while Technology Skills
the vertical one being & Knowledge

the professional’s
technology skills and
knowledge:
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Translation. IT staff typically fail miserably at
translating IT issues and concerns into
business impacts. Translation requires the
ability to understand how IT initiatives will
affect the business or deliver value to it.
Communicating with Business Involves
Translation
BUSINESS IT

Business Impact of Technology Translation

Technology Issues
Issues

Business Solutions Translation

IT Solutions
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Tailoring. IT staff also need to adapt their
communication to the needs of their audience.
This involves two skills, first, IT workers need
to know their audience – understanding their
needs, their agendas, and their politics- so that
they can communicate in ways the business
needs and wants to hear, second, all IT
personnel need to know how to choose
communication methods appropriately.
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Tailoring (Continued)
0 bad news is best delivered in face-to – face
meetings, not in reports or e-mails; and
presentations to executives are not the place
to expound on one’s technology expertise.
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Transparency. Transparency is a cornerstone of
trust in business-IT relationship, and IT managers
should not assume that success speaks for itself.
At an individual level, transparency defined as
honest, accurate, ethical, and, respectful.
0 Other ways to promote transparent
communication include checking assumptions,
clarifying goals, stating intentions up front, and
asking for feedback on understanding.
T-Level Communication Skills
for IT Staff
0 Thinking, talking, and listening. An important
communication skill that is increasingly valued by
business is the ability to think outside the box.
Managers are suggested that IT staff need to think
horizontally across the enterprise in order to do what
is best for the business.
0 Thinking, however, does not mean simply blurting out
ideas; it means understanding how and where to
speak and how to listen to others. This skill involves
more than simply talking and waiting to talk.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 There are much more

needs to be done in
improving communication
between IT and the
business at all levels.
However, there are number
of practices that would
promote the development
of good communication
skills among the staff also
as an IT function.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 Make the importance of effective communication

visible. It is well accepted that if you want people to
pay attention to something, you need to measure and
incentivize for it. A key way to get staff to pay
attention is to incorporate communication skills into
performance appraisals.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 Work with HR to develop new skills expectations

and roles. Several firms are incorporating specific
communication competencies into staff role
descriptions. One is even trying to create jobs that
have titles that reflect the types of competencies
needed such as senior business consultant,
technology relationship manager, and business
technology specialist.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 Develop communication skills both formally and

informally. To support these new expectations, some
firms offer formal training in communication skills in
areas such as making presentations, communication
styles, and negotiations. Incorporating
communication skills into personal development
plans is one way some managers tailor formal skills
development for personal needs. More informal
approaches include mentoring, lunch-and-learn
sessions, and self-assessment tools.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 Increase the nature and frequency of

communication. There are few quick fixes to the
communication problem, but the importance of
regular communication between IT and business at all
levels cannot be overemphasized. Wherever possible,
priority should be given to informal communication
and social interaction, as these are the best ways to
build up shared language and understanding.
Improving Business-IT Communication

0 Spend more time on communication. Most important, IT

leaders at all levels need to spend more time on
communication – not only in what and how they
communicate personally but, rather, in learning how their
staff and organizations communicate. They need to seek
out and remove obstacles to communication, coach their
staff, become sensitized to their communication processes
(both formal and informal), and do whatever it takes to
develop a shared understanding and language with the
business.
Thank you!