Lifting the siege of Fortress IT

Everyone knows an organisation with Fortress IT. Maybe you’ve worked in one. Maybe you run one. A place with Fortress IT is where the CIO and his team seemingly inhabit their own kingdom, surrounded by an invisible moat complete with crocodiles. The drawbridge looks permanently rusted in the “up” position; occasionally arrows will be fired out into the rest of the business, then everyone withdraws back in.
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Fortress IT tends to emerge where there is a misalignment with an organisation's strategic direction and the business reality of the wants and needs of users. The IT business unit is an easy target in these situations as so much depends on them. The natural response to continual attack (criticism) is to fortify. Thus, the emergence of Fortress IT.
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For everyone outside Fortress IT - the humans dealing with customers, people and culture, operations, finance, marketing and strategy - Fortress IT is a huge frustration. They’re IT’s customer’s, right? Why is it so hard to get them to act on requests or explain their decisions? A culture of “NO” pervades such organisations. Projects are painfully delayed or abandoned altogether. The dreaded and debilitating Shadow IT* emerges and spreads. Everyone blames everyone else.

Common responses to Fortress IT are:

1. Restructure every two years (in the hope that new people will fix the problem)
2. Wait for the inevitable critical failures in IT operations or infrastructure (perhaps start looking for another job, too)
3. Prepare to come up with really good answers when your board/shareholders/regulators come knocking (in the hope that you can save your job when they look for who’s to blame)
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Meanwhile, your organisation sheds customers and your employee retention number start to look very sad.
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Happily, there is an easier and more effective way to deal with Fortress IT. A tried-and-true way. Here’s the secret in three easy steps:

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1. Provide an evidence base for change
Design research planned and undertaken with rigour delivers a strong, independent, and empathetic evidence base for change. This means equitable engagement at all levels of an organisation, from the frontline doers to the executive, through interviews by independent, unbiased, professional researchers that deliver an agreed transformation “playbook” that defines the change that is desired, and how to get there – together.

2. Establish a trust bridge
The very act of investing in understanding people’s needs in an evidence-based way, rather than relying on the opinion of a few HiPPOs**, signals to the entire organisation that IT is sincere, sees the need for a different approach, and wants their help. Yes, there will be scepticism, and some people won’t want to play. But when relationships are broken, continual changes in leadership or twiddling with processes & technology, is pointless.

3. Embrace leadership catharsis
For an IT leader, asking people what they think of you and your team is hard. Criticism? It’s emotionally risky and your team doesn’t deserve to get pummelled through a survey or random feedback. But this is how we got to Fortress IT in the first place right? Rather, a research professional will listen to your needs and concerns first, will support and coach you, and focus on generating insights for positive change. They'll give you benchmarking metrics so you – and everyone else-can see your progress clearly.

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4. Emerge stronger - and united
For an IT leader embracing this approach it can be career changing. It shows flexibility, bravery, and empathy. Not just innovative thinking, but innovative doing. Maybe you’re not at the Fortress IT stage yet; maybe you hope never to be. Yet every technology leader out there has a business, customer and employees demanding more and more from them, and their people. Time to share the load and create true transformation.
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*Where IT’s systems and processes are augmented or undermined by another business unit
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**Highest paid person’s opinion.