Premier 100: IT leaders aren’t just born, they’re made

Computerworld - PALM DESERT, Calif. -- Promoting techies into IT management jobs solely because of their neat appearance and gregariousness isn’t the best way to pick the IT leaders of tomorrow. “Way too often you lose your best technician and only get a so-so manager,” said Kay Palmer, CIO at J.B. Hunt Transport Inc.

Palmer, who spoke at Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders conference on Monday, led the development of an IT management training program that was so successful that it has been adopted by her company’s human resources department for use in other areas of the Lowell, Ark.-based trucking firm.

But for many organizations, the thoughtful recruitment and development of future IT leaders remains a back-burner concern.

“As long as tech organizations can run reasonably effectively, there is no imperative to focus on leadership development,” said Jerry Bartlett, CIO at online stock broker TD Ameritrade. Bartlett took part in a panel discussion on IT leadership yesterday.

The curriculums of university computer science and engineering departments ignore leadership development, and companies then fail to fill the vacuum, he said. “My biggest concern is that by giving short shrift [to leadership], there will be a lack of extraordinary leaders in the next generation," he said.

	Jerry Bartlett, CIO of TD Ameritrade Image Credit: Asa Mathat

For J.B. Hunt’s 340-strong IT team, Palmer created a three-part program to identify and train future IT leaders. Management aspirants are first identified through managers’ recommendations, along with a battery of tests such as the Myers-Briggs personality test. “Really smart people aren’t always the best decision-makers,” she said, adding that introverts aren’t always unsuitable for management positions.

Management trainees at J.B. Hunt are then assigned an industrial psychologist -- their “office linebacker coach” -- who assigns homework. The trainees also take classes and role-play management scenarios, often in front of actual managers. “When the senior leadership is watching, there is real risk and pressure,” she said.

For Columbia, Md.-based TD Ameritrade, Bartlett paid out of his own budget for an 18-month management training program that involves a full day of training each month and pairing trainees up with mentors. “It’s quite a commitment,” he said.

Kay Palmer, CIO of J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. Image Credit: Asa Mathat