After several years in corporate America I have come to the conclusion that, for the most part, IT departments tend to suffer certain symptoms of severe '
group think'. I share with you now the list of symptoms of
group think defined by Irving Janis way back in 1977:
- Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
- Rationalizing warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
- Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
- Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
- Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
- Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
- Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
- Mind guards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
Now, consider the infrastructure of most backward-thinking IT shops. How many times have you been the victim of stereotyping by someone in the ranks of your organization's IT staff? If you are not "one of them" you are treated as a lower life-form. They also tend to take unilateral action without consulting the operations side of the business. Their way is the only way it shall be done.
Where did the message that other departments within the company are fact the
customers of IT get lost? If external customers are treated in the same manner as internal customers the business would not be around for long.
I am not saying that every IT shop is this way. There are a few golden nuggets out there that are forward-thinking and customer service oriented. They fully understand that they are there to
support the business, not own it and run it for the lowly CEO and other employees that don't really know what is going on.
I am in IT by profession so I guess I should be shunned for speaking ill of my own kind. However, this is the type of behavior I have witnessed time and time again. While I don't agree with it, I do understand it. I can see how, in such a technology driven workplace, it is all too easy for network admins, system admins,
DBAs, and other IT employees to get the idea that they are the supreme overlords of the organization.
Just stop it. You're not in charge. We're not in charge. Companies live or die together as one unit. Departments are created in order to make the business more efficient. They exist to support each other in business operations, not to compete for power.
