Building a successful technology team

By Sandra L. Wiley
Boomer Consulting, Inc.

A crucial element to success in technology is leadership and making progress toward established action plans and goals. You might think I am going to talk about the managing partner or the technology partner's role in the process, but you would only be partially correct. In the area of technology, one person does not make things happen. It must be a team effort. In many firms you will hear this group referred to as the Technology Committee. I like to refer to it as the Technology Team. The reason I like to say "team" is that team refers to a unique blend of individuals who are working together for a common purpose. That is what your firm will need in order to make valuable progress.

Technology is very important to a firm's ultimate success, and since it is the second largest expense item in your firm, you need to build a team that will make smart decisions.

Is your firm ready for the challenge of building a highly productive and forward thinking team? If so, then read on.

The first step in building your Technology Team begins with the selection of the members. You might be saying to yourself, "That's easy. Just use everyone who is directly involved with technology in the firm, including the technology partner, managing partner, CIO or IT director, network administrator, technology consultants, help desk personnel and technology trainer." While all of these individuals could be excellent candidates for the team, I would challenge you to develop your team with the following individuals in mind:

Technology or managing partner: This person is vital to success. He or she must have a technology vision for the firm. Notice I did not say he or she had to be "technical." They must be able to visualize the benefits or end results desired from the information technology system. This person must have significant authority with the firm, as he or she will have to justify and defend both the technology expenditures and cost recoveries that directly impact the bottom line.
End users: These individuals are critical to the success of the team. They will have input from their point of view, which is the actual working knowledge about how processes occur. Many significant issues can be discovered and addressed at a staff level.
Integrator (administrative): The role of this person is to take and distribute minutes of meetings, oversee the steps involved in completing action plans and ensure that deadlines are met. This person also is the liaison between the owner group, end user technicians, and outside vendors and facilitators.
Technician: This is your top techie. This is the person who has the hands-on knowledge of technical issues and will give you the expert advice you need to make good decisions. It goes without saying, if you don't have this person, you won't make much progress in your efforts.
Facilitator: This person sits back, listens to the discussion and helps the team come to a successful decision. He or she works as the mediator between all the groups and brings heated discussions to a logical conclusion. This does not have to be a person from inside the firm; he or she can be an outside third party who is well respected and trusted by the firm.

Now, up until this point, the criteria for being on the team are the job duties a person holds within the firm. That is certainly a good starting point for making a choice about who is on this team, but it is far from being the only judgment you should make. Just because someone holds the right job title is no indication that person can work on a cohesive and productive team.

This is going to have to be a very diverse team in order to be successful. You need someone who will be a visionary, someone who will be able to maintain an orderly agenda and schedule times for projects, someone who will be responsible for researching solutions to various problems, or maybe even someone who must create products and services that will assist the firm and the firm's clients.

Wow, what a job! Is it possible for a group of people to really get that many different tasks completed? Of course. But you must be selective about who you pick to be on the team. Not only do they have to be motivated and excited, they must be the right fit for the team.

Once the right people are in place, the team must meet on a regular basis. I suggest that you begin by meeting weekly until you have task forces established. Then, you can move to meeting monthly as a complete team. During these meetings, the team is responsible for looking at the technology goals and objectives they have set out in the technology plan and budget. The team will evaluate and address the progress of the various task forces to ensure that the action plans are completed on a timely basis. The team should coordinate an annual review to update the plan for the next year and evaluate and celebrate the accomplishments of the past year.

Your challenge is evident. With the right team in place, you can accomplish great things in your firm. With the wrong team in place, you will not move forward, and eventually you will fall behind. Take up the challenge today; start building the team that will bring your firm technology leadership to a more productive and successful future.

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