Governing Magazine/February 1996

TECHNOLOGY COLUMN

NEW CHALLENGES FOR TECHNOLOGY LEADERS

By Jerry Mechling

Jerry Mechling is director of the Program on Strategic Computing and
Telecommunications in the Public Sector at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government. To reach him, call 617-495-3036 or send
e-mail to jerrym@ksgrsch. harvard.edu.

What lessons would most improve information-technology leadership in
1996 and beyond? Here's my list, centering on the need for stronger
partnerships between general managers and IT managers:
 1. New IT applications require general managers to be more involved
in IT leadership. As computers and telecommunications grow hugely more
cost-effective, they are used not only for incremental change
(automating existing work flows, as in general ledger accounting) but
for quantum change (inventing fundamentally new work flows, as in
services delivered over the Internet). These new applications bring
major changes in jobs and in relationships inside and outside the
organization. They cannot be implemented by the old approach of
delegating them to technology experts. The most difficult problems are
organizational and political, not technological.
 2. The gap between general managers and IT managers must be reduced.
General managers (including political leaders) are seen--even by
themselves--as not having adequate knowledge of IT issues. Surveys
rank only half of the line managers in government as doing favorably
on technology, and far less than half of the executive and legislative
personnel with IT oversight responsibilities. For their part, IT
managers are seen as not having adequate knowledge of strategy and
operations. To create strong partnerships between general managers and
IT managers, this gap must be closed. Chief information officers
should play a key role here, especially in educating general managers
on the strategic and operational implications of technology
developments.
 3. IT leaders need to overcome confusion and conflict among
stakeholders. While projects characterized by low levels of confusion
and conflict (using known technologies to automate known processes,
such as payroll) can typically be implemented via standard project-
management techniques, projects that present high levels of confusion
(such as creating kiosk delivery for existing services) require
special effort to clarify the vision. With greater levels of conflict
(as in massive downsizing), leadership requires special effort to
negotiate among opponents and establish tight controls to keep the
project moving. When both confusion and conflict are high (as in
service integration across jurisdictional boundaries), success
typically depends on breaking the project into smaller pieces or--at
the other extreme--on making it big enough and exciting enough to
mobilize supporters and prepare them thoroughly for implementation.
 4. IT leaders need to invest more in IT-related organizational
learning. In stable environments (is any environment truly stable
anymore?), learning may merely require the work of the IT planning
staff. But in rapidly changing environments, front-line and senior
managers need to become aggressively involved in educating individuals
and teams, in benchmarking against world-class IT performers and in
experimenting with networked workflows and organizations.
 5. IT leaders need to focus on high-leverage targets such as customer
service, non-traditional funding and electronic commerce. While
transformational IT initiatives are inherently difficult, three
targets promise high value at relatively low risk:
 --IT-based customer service. Government services--to the maximum
extent possible--should be delivered via telecommunications networks
on a one-stop, 24-hour, self-service basis. This would reduce costs
and improve service. Telephone hotlines, the Internet, kiosks and
networking infrastructure all deserve more emphasis.
 --Non-traditional funding. For IT funding, a number of governments
are turning to user charges, bonds and public-private partnerships.
(Look at Massachusetts and Santa Clara County, California, for
example.)
 --Electronic commerce and procurement. The private sector is building
electronic links with suppliers and customers to reduce costs and to
outsource non-essential functions. The public sector should partner in
these efforts, not only to improve government efficiency but to build
infrastructure for global electronic commerce. (See Singapore and
Utah.)
 The new year brings new challenges. As John F. Kennedy once said: "It
is time for a new generation of leadership to cope with new problems
and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won." In
Kennedy's time, leadership was needed for space exploration, civil
rights and the environment. While these are still important concerns,
our new problems and opportunities are driven by how information
technology is used in the rapidly globalizing economy. There is a new
world to be won, and strong IT leadership is needed to win it.

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