When IT Pros Don't Cut The Mustard

support procedures, or they were performing them lackadaisically. After meeting with the individuals and setting performance criteria, we turned the situation around. 

However, the infrastructure staffers were a different issue. They simply didn't understand the full complexity and scope of telecommunications for the organization. So I redefined their jobs, let three people go, and brought in a facilities firm to manage the function.

Another company was making major changes to how it delivered electronic banking products to both its retail and commercial customers, affecting bill payment, ATMs, point of sales, wires, etc. The manager of the team charged with rolling out and converting all of the company's electronic products was swamped with his regular day-to-day activities as well as the many new responsibilities for this project. He and his team were falling behind schedule. We developed a two-pronged approach, whereby I helped with some of the tasks, and senior management assigned another experienced individual to work under him for the project. The result was a successful effort.

Another department manager at the same bank had a different challenge: As a recent transfer into her position, she wasn't well versed in all of its functions. Yet we still depended upon her department for a series of projects. In this case, I advised her to find a subject matter expert in the organization with whom she could work. We assigned a co-worker from another department for the remaining five months.

How do you handle a situation where a high-ranking individual is responsible for the success of a project but can't cope with its requirements? I faced this situation when I was called in to convert a company to a new set of core applications within six months. The clock was ticking. It was clear after about two weeks that the CIO wasn't prepared to make timely decisions on key tasks.

I discussed my concerns with the individual and laid out what was needed and when, but the situation didn't improve. He was either unable to deal with all of the changes or was trying to focus on all of the tasks -- more than 2,000 of them -- to make decisions. There was no alternative: I had to talk with the president of the company, because the project was in jeopardy. I recommended that the CIO be sidelined, if possible. The president's solution was to place the individual on a leave of absence and replace him with one of his key subordinates. 

Every situation and individual is unique. There's no one-size-fits-all solution. The key is to identify the source of the problem and resolve it quickly and creatively. Sometimes you have to take the position of solving today's problem and let tomorrow's problem take care of itself.

Trying to meet today's business technology needs with yesterday's IT organizational structure is like driving a Model T at the Indy 500. Time for a reset. Read our Transformative CIOs Organize For Success report today. (Free registration required.)