At CIO Boot Camp @ Interop_NY, Thornton May led a panel discussion with some veteran IT leaders about managing the people of IT.

Moderator:
Thornton May, Futurist, Executive Director and Dean, IT Leadership Academy

Panelists:
Karlin Sue Bohnert, Chief Development Officer, VP Emeritus - Abercrombie & Fitch
Bruce Barnes, CIO Emeritus, Nationwide Financial Services
Louis Gutierrez, CIO Emeritus - Commonwealth of Massachusetts; CIO Emeritus Harvard-Pilgrim Healthcare
Joe Puglisi, Vice President and CIO, EMCOR Group, Inc.

Here’s a summary of some of the ideas and issues that came up in the discussion:

• It’s important to take responsibility. People appreciate someone taking responsibility. - Gutierrez
• Treat your employees the way you want to be treated. Treat your employees like you treat your children. - Puglisi
• I never ask anyone anything that I’m not willing to do myself. So don’t make people work late if you’re not willing to work late. - Puglisi
• People have stayed the same for years. Toughest thing to overcome is to get people to come on board of what the company is trying to do. - Bohnert
• Issue of millenials - young people who have adopted Web 2.0 communications and have a different view of how they want to work in a business. They don’t want to work in a very corporate environment. They like the vision of what Silicon Valley is selling. That’s what you’re faced with when you’re trying to bring in young talent. A Silicon Valley company will be managed very differently than an insurance company. - Bohnert
• Make it clear to your employees aware that you care about results. I did away with timesheets. All I care is you deliver and you’re there when I need you to be there. - Puglisi
• IT people are paid more because of the 24/7 availability even though they’re not working them 24/7. Make sure you thank them. Have a slush fund to give thanks with dinners or a movie. Recognize people at a group meeting so everyone knows. Thank them for the little thing they did three weeks ago. That goes a long way getting people to work for you. - Bohnert
• If you’re not in the mental minds of all your IT employees then you’re at risk. They could slurp all your employees up on an iPod. - May
• People want to be proud to do something. They need to know why the company and project are important. - Gutierrez
• The annual review should not be a surprise. You don’t want a situation where they say, “I thought you loved me.” - May
• One person asked what do you do when someone says they want an executive position or a promotion and you kind of cringe realizing they’re not right for the position. ANSWER: Ask them what do you think it’s going to take to help you get there? What do you think the qualifications are? What can we do together to help you get to that role? Get them bought in and speaking the words of the role. - Barnes
• The average 34 year old has changed jobs nine times. - U.S. Department of Labor

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Tags: CIO Boot Camp, CIOs, hr, human resources, Interop, interop_ny, staffing

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