Summary

Practical, proven guidance for transforming the culture of any IT department As more and more jobs are outsourced, and the economy continues to struggle, people are looking for an alternative to the greed-driven, selfish leadership that has resulted in corporations where the workers are treated as interchangeable parts. This book shows how the human factors can be used to unlock higher returns on human capital such that workers are no longer interchangeable parts, but assets that are cared about and grown. Refreshingly innovative, Transforming IT Culture shows how neuroscientific and psychological research can be applied in the IT workplace to unleash a vast pool of untapped potential. Written by an expert on IT culture transformation Considers the widespread "cultural blindness" in business today, and how it can be addressed Draws on the author's repeated success transforming IT divisions across major corporations by applying the human factors Explains why social intelligence, human factors, and collaboration are the source of harmony, shared learning, mutual respect, and value creation Employees want positive change in business, something to stop the downward spiral we are on, both financially and emotionally. Transforming IT Culture shows how the essential ingredient to any high performing IT department is a culture where employees are valued and managed to their strengths. Using the Information Technology profession as a lens through which we can understand knowledge worker productivity and how to seriously improve it, this important new book reveals why Collaborative Social Systems are essential to every organization.

Author Biography

FRANK WANDER is founder and CEO of the IT Excellence Institute, an organization dedicated to answering Peter Drucker's challenge to increase the productivity of knowledge workers. Prior to starting the Institute, Frank was CIO at Guardian Life for more than five years, transforming the culture and capability of IT to deliver business projects on time and on budget, across 90% of its portfolio. He is a highly sought-after speaker at leading IT industry events, contributes articles to CIO Magazine and Computerworld, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Warning: This Book Is about the Obvious

A Race to the Bottom

The Social Enterprise

A New Era

A New Focus

Note

Chapter 1 A Shining Light

The Blind Spot Revealed

From Failure, Understanding

Human Understanding Enters the Workplace

We Have Been Taught Not to See or Feel

Unlocking Human Potential

Dawn of a New Productivity Model

Working Social

Notes

Chapter 2 Corporate America’s IT Organization

Failure is All Too Common

Still Broken After All These Years…

Unfortunately, the Truth Is Worse

If We Would Only Just Embrace and Trust Our People…

Offshore Outsourcing: A Deeper Look

Notes

Chapter 3 Man as Machine

A Social Pathology

He’s A Good Hand

The Machine Age: Still Felt Today

The Birth of Corporate Easter Islands

Our Human Resource Practices Remain Primitive

Selectively Continue the Past; Fully Embrace the Future

Notes

Chapter 4 The Unseen Art and Emotion of IT

The Acme Inc. Philharmonic Orchestra: Knowledge as Notes, Leaders as Conductors, Programmers as Composers

A Product of Mind and Emotion

Limitations of Language and our Resultant Inability to Communicate

Social Cohesion and Conceptual Unity

And the Instruments Keep Changing

The Encore. A Call Back. Bravo!!

Notes

Chapter 5 Case Study: An Unproductive State of Mind

Toxic Leadership and Its Aftermath

Conclusion

Chapter 6 What Are We Waiting For?

Applied Science at Work

The Hawthorne Studies

Pygmalion in the Classroom

Empathy, Caring, and Compassion

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Mood is Contagious

The Limbic System

Maslow: Humanism in the Workplace

Working Memory

Mirror Neurons

Other Thoughts

Notes

Chapter 7 Empathy and Compassion

The Socially Cohesive and Resilient Organization

The Toxic Handler: Empathy and Compassion in Action

Dysfunctional Organizations Have Less Time for Compassion

Empathy and Compassion: A Research Perspective

Notes

Chapter 8 Designing a Collaborative Social System

Working Social: How the Right Culture Unlocks Productivity

Designing a Collaborative Social Systems

Why a Collaborative Social System Matters

Notes

Chapter 9 The Social Compact

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Living the Values

Shaping IT: One Interaction at a Time

Courtesy is Contagious

Giving versus Getting

Citizenship Performance

Notes

Chapter 10 The Servant Leader

Prosocial and Authentic

“The Opening Night”

Using Social Intelligence and Caring to Lead from Below

Conducting Styles

Servant Leadership in IT: Giving Credit, while Silently Helping Drive Group Success

Academic Views

Moving the Group from “I Get It” to “I See It”

Notes

Chapter 11 Social and Emotional Intelligence

The Organizational Canvas Meets the Social Paint Brush

Personal and Social Competence

Sogence in Action

Understanding Expression: A Social Skill from our Past

Good Vibrations: The Right Social Sentiment Energizes a Performance

Notes

Chapter 12 Designing an Innovative Culture

Talent and Mood

The Human Factors

Build a Culture of Creativity

Chapter 13 Workforce Planning

Maximizing the Productivity of Your Talent—Today and Tomorrow

Workforce Planning Gap

Goals and Process

Context Diagram

Outsourcing and Offshoring

Notes

Chapter 14 How to Successfully Transform Your Organization

Putting It All Together

High-Level Recipe

Best Practices in Detail

Conclusion

About the Author

Index

Supplemental Materials

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