Blame IT Syndrome - Why IT People Are Always the First to Be Blamed When Things Go Wrong?

Aliens... bunch of weirdos and technical wizards with strange words and outlandish languages... They don't belong to us... they don't fit in the business world! 

Let’s face it, nobody likes IT people. Often interred in the basement, trapped between the rack servers and a bank of screens, they are cut adrift – both physically and psychologically – from the rest of the company. What they do is alien to business people: unorthodox and incomprehensible.

If we assume that our today workplace is a modern tribe, divided into teams with each assigned with specific tasks, the IT people would be bunch of lower-level outcasts. While everyone talk and do business, they are here just to make sure everything in our modern life is going smoothly. When some desktop collapse, some problems in software occur, we call them to figure out what’s going on. And when these servants don't magically appear straight away to conjure up an instant fix for our machine, we sit back and start complaining about their supports inadequacies.They are closer to robots than humans, part of the machinery system that enhances our lives, while we, the business people, are the supreme beings who create, produce and bring fortune to the business.

This is the wide-held belief nearly in all companies. And the management would do little to fix this crack between the IT department and rest of the world. Ultimately, IT people would be the ones who suffer and pay the price. When things go wrong, IT are to be blamed. In opposite circumstances, they are last to be credited for success.

But are they innocent? Or are they to be blamed for this isolation?

The IT Island

The short answer is: no, they are not totally innocent. Believe me, I've been working in IT departments throughout my career and I know it: we actually take pleasure in being different, and it is one of the reasons for the disconnect from the rest.

"IT is still seen as a bit of a dark art, and in some ways, technology people do like to cultivate that." - Katherine Coombs

“IT is still seen as a bit of a dark art, and in some ways, technology people do like to cultivate that,” says Katherine Coombs, IT director at outsourcing provider buyingTeam. “Technology is a thing that they don’t need to build into the business too heavily. Sometimes, it suits people for there to be a clear line between IT and the rest of the business.”

“Does the person who is handling the backup tapes, and programming bits and bobs behind the scenes need to integrate with the rest of the business? Probably not, because that’s an internal IT operation,” Coombs adds.

More than that, and while being totally isolated in their island, IT have their own interests, own motivations, own goals and own other-worldly label for success. While the rest fight in the business world for the financial profit, the IT, detached in their basement, are engaged in battles with technology and computers. And for them, nothing compares to the taste of victory over the machine, nothing compares to submitting technology to their will. It is overcoming yourself to a buddhist enlightenment.

Yet while the IT enjoy the luxury of being away from the business battlegrounds and stress, they are totally exposed outside their sphere and easily outplayed by the other departments. The others have experience in communication, negotiation, maneuver... making them favourite in any confrontation with the introverted IT. And when things go wrong in an interdepartmental work, its blindingly obvious who makes a perfect scapegoat.

Healing the Wounds

This hostile relation serves badly both organization's business and atmosphere. IT is a core part of the business. To maximise the profit, it should be treated, and act, as such.

The problem can be fixed by making concessions from both parties. The IT have to get out from their bubble, and the other departments should start to understand and appreciate the IT vital role. Based on my experience, I am putting 3 main tips that should improve the life of both.

1. More Respect from the Boardroom

A recent survey from NetApp showed how little IT departments feel valued by CEOs. Almost two-thirds of IT pros surveyed said they had trouble convincing their company directors about the value of a proposed project, regardless of the significant benefits it could bring.

Not knowing the importance of IT in your company is definitely a strategic mistake. With technology taking more and more control over our daily tasks, the IT department necessity and influence are hastily increasing.

Eventually, more respect from the boardroom will stir up more respect from the other departments. And being backed by the management, the IT department stature will rise, boosting their motivation and making them a powerful part of the business group. 

2. Boost Communication

Event if they don't like it, IT will have to get out of the basement. Whether it is a personal initiative, a wise strategy by the IT manager or a recommendation by the boardroom, the IT department have to boost communication with the others. Not only does that improve the relation with other department, but also would have spectacular outcomes when working on collaborative projects. And any successful leader knows: You need empathy to achieve extreme performance, and this can only achieved by human interaction.

3. Smooth Project Management

Bad blood often develops toward departments – and subsequently within them. This is most common when an IT department and its end users fail to communicate and when the IT department fails to manage and meet those end users' expectations. Here comes the role of the IT project manager.

If you are able to set and manage the expectations, keep up the communication and keep all parties in the loop about both progress and setbacks, then you don't have to worry about going to great lengths to keep end users happy – that will come naturally. Happy end users means no hostility, thus happy IT people.