During my career as an IT consultant, I have been asked by many different clients and by various members of my team for information on policies, procedures and templates.  There are thousands of small businesses that do not have the time or resources to draft documents or polices for items like acceptable use of computers/media, setting up new computers/users or change control.

Work Without Process is Burn Out

I believe that there are certain critical documents and policies that every IT department should have regardless of the size.  The level at which the policy or documentation is implemented is entirely up to the company.  Below are the links to 4 great templates or policies documents that every IT department should have with a brief explanation of why.

• Acceptable Use Policy – All companies need one.  These are critical to employees so that they understand what a company computer and email is for. Many people get offended at the idea that a company computer is not meant to check personal email or to develop home business web-sites on.  Mitigation of risk and having a clear set of rules governing electronic media and systems is critical to all companies that have PCs and email.
• Change Control Request Form –  Change control…  most companies- especially small companies do not use a change request for for their IT staff.  How many times has a small business owner come into the office and heard his IT guy call out, “Hey, I’m restarting the server.”  It is 10AM on a Tuesday.  Turns out the IT Admin installed a piece of software on the systems without getting permission or telling anyone.  A simple change process can save all of these headaches.
• New User/Equipment Form – How man managers think that the IT department has an unlimited number of PCs and all the time in the world on a Monday morning to setup a person that HR made an offer to 3 weeks ago???  Haw many IT people are frustrated by the lack of planning managers have when a new person starts.  Having a simple forma that is given to IT when a person accepts their offer for a PC and user account is so simple and so critical to an employee being productive on their first day.  Not to mention, the employee feels they are working for a weel organized company that CARES about their productivity.  There are hundreds of forms online that many colleges and government agencies use.  I would recommend taking the best from those sources and develop your own.
• Support Request – IT Admin… walking down the hall and then someone grabs him.  ”Hey I need you to look at my PC.  I have a problem looking at this website….. It will just take a second.”  2 hours later….  The idea is to give the IT team a chance to set their priorities and organize their work by using a form and a process.  A good idea is to use a ticketing system like Spice Works or Track It.

The use of these forms and some basic process behind the paperwork will instantly make your IT team more effective and provide some much needed insight into the workload of your technical staff.

Don't Let Your Passion Destroy Your Dream

At seeing the Whale-  Ahab lost his last sense of reason.  ”All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart’s shell upon it.” Melville

What does all that crazy talk mean?

Let’s start with Hubris- Excessive pride, presumption or arrogance… the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

Basically the story goes that Ahab had a run in with the Whale many years before.  The quest to find the Whale and make it pay for the pain it had inflicted in him, consumed Ahab.  It consumed him to the point that he was willing to destroy his boat, his crew and himself in order to accomplish his goal.  Hubris personified.

Ever work for someone like that?  Ever felt like that?  Look at the quote.

Ahab became crazy; visibly personified his demons and had he been given the opportunity he would have used his heart- his very core of life- to inflict damage upon the Whale to meet his goals.  Paints a very bold picture of a tragic hero. A person who is not leading with the best intentions for his team, company or family.

It is important for leaders to understand that they are not always right.  They should rely on the counsel of others and take a step back when they are beginning to become consumed with their quest.  Leadership is about far more than having people follow you.  Leadership is about empowering the people you work with and looking out for the best interests of the team.

Think about your end goals.  Jim Collins Says, “The most productive relationships are partnerships rooted in a freedom of choice vested in both parties to participate only in that which is mutually beneficial and uplifting.”

Before it becomes about you as the leader-  write down the end goals and discuss how those can be achieved WITH YOUR TEAM.   The idea is not to talk them into your position.

Leading is not about the leader-  but about the goals.  Just to leave you all with a note about a study done on Civil War leadership.  The study showed- and I quote “…lack of information sharing and consensus building resulted in serious disadvantages (in battlefield losses). In the cases examined, the pressure for prompt decision making was not sufficient to justify the loss of information that resulted from the determination to act alone.”