Advice for CIO on attracting and developing IT talent so your organization can flourish long term, from leadership expert Randy Pennington.

Attracting, developing, and retaining talent is a BIG deal. Your IT operation can only go as fast and as far as your team is equipped to take you. That makes the quality and fit of your talent the engine that allows your organization to be faster, better, cheaper, and friendlier in every area of the business.

So what about the future? More specifically, are you attracting and developing talent that will enable your teams to flourish in the future, or are you focused exclusively on what you need to accomplish today?

Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame baseball player and legendary purveyor of common sense, said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Yogi’s observation has never been truer.

Technology will continue to influence every area of the business landscape. If you think the current digital transformation has affected what you need from your teams, imagine what it will be like when artificial intelligence and advanced robotics become common.

"You will need your staff to constantly scout the disruptions and opportunities that are just over the horizon, and then bring the news back to your organization."


Additionally, the Millennial generation that currently drives older colleagues and managers a little crazy will create even more change. They are the largest generation in the workforce today, and their numbers will only increase. They are likely to make up over 50 percent of your talent by the year 2020.

The continuing generational migration is already changing how you attract, develop, lead, and retain people. That is only the beginning, however.

The Millennials bring a bias toward entrepreneurial thinking that allows you to develop new ideas quicker. The truth is that we don’t know for sure how highly motivated millennials will respond to routine IT work over the long-term. More important, we don’t know for sure if traditional IT departments will adapt to engage them.

Winning with IT talent in the future

Several of the competencies that make individuals valuable to your team today will continue to be important in the future. You need people who are adaptable, collaborative, accountable, and act with a sense of urgency in pursuit of your purpose.

In addition, you will need employees and a culture that embody the following for your IT organization to flourish in the future:

Awareness
The scariest change on the horizon is the one that you don’t see coming. You will need your staff to constantly scout the disruptions and opportunities that are just over the horizon and then bring the news back to your organization in order to anticipate and respond.

Versatility
The adage that if “your only tool is a hammer, everything automatically looks like a nail” is more applicable than ever. Your star performers in the future will be multi-talented and bring diversity of thinking and perspective.

Opportunistic problem solving
The technologies that disrupt industries are available to everyone. Taxi companies could have developed the Uber app. Blockbuster could have developed or purchased Netflix. What was missing was an entrepreneurial mindset that actively looked for new solutions to meet customer needs. The companies that flourish in the future will reinforce opportunistic thinking and behavior.

Your next steps

The most important change you can make to prepare for the future is creating and sustaining a culture that embraces the challenge of change. This isn’t a new message. The need to be proactive has filled IT presentations and literature for years. And yet, too many IT departments continue to be reactive and wait until something new is thrown over the wall.

You don’t have to start with a big initiative. Raising awareness about what it will take to flourish in a world of upheaval and uncertainty is a great place to start.

Extend the discussion by identifying areas where your current culture will not serve you well in the future. Follow that up with developing your leaders to attract, develop, and retain the star performers of tomorrow.

The present should be guided more by the future than the past. What will you do today to guarantee your success tomorrow?

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