The unsung skill too many IT leaders shortchange

When it comes to harvesting full value from the rich set of technologies available to every organization, communications skills are probably not on every IT leader’s short list of essential capabilities. Technical skills, for sure. Integration? No doubt. But full spectrum communication skills — that is, oral, written, and digital/social — are almost as essential, if not more so, when it comes to conveying the value of IT’s work and ensuring adoption of it.

Just about every IT/digital leader I interview considers themselves an above-average communicator. Many think they are exceptional orators. But I am less certain this is the case. In fact, I am convinced much of the malaise the technology sector is currently experiencing is due to subpar communication skills.

It is time we stop paying lip service to communication skills in IT and systematically and energetically evaluate and remediate the quality of communication emanating from IT/digital organizations. What we say, and how/when we say it, says a lot about us — pun intended.

Measuring communication efficacy

It is perversely ironic that the discipline that makes measurement of just about everything possible — from caloric intake, to heartbeat, step count, location, blood sugar and quality of sleep — is perhaps the least and worst measured element of modern existence.

It is no surprise to CIO.comreaders that IT/digital efficacy is not optimally measured. It is perplexing and troubling that IT/digital communication — in most enterprises — is essentially unmeasured. Communication should not be an afterthought. Communication professionals suggest that before you start a project, you write the press release.

In many sectors communication strategies are considered and embraced. In Economy of Words: Communicative Imperatives in Central Banks, Binghamton University State University of New York cultural anthropologist Douglas R. Holmes argues that “the public broadly must be recruited to collaborate with central banks in achieving the ends of monetary policy.” The way this happens is through acts of public narration. Public communications have become paramount in the Federal Reserve’s efforts to manage inflation and steer economies. Micro/macro-economic success depends on crafting behavior-shaping ‘monetary policy stories’ that capture hearts and minds.