Words that some fear...

Today as I thought about the environment I oversee, two words popped into my mind that are central and critical to success as a technology service provider - ownership and accountability. We work in an industry that is increasingly integrated, robust, complex, and necessary for business success. Service providers with SLAs, application and hardware providers with patches, updates and new revisions, and people - our staff - that are tasked with making it all make sense, bringing it together, and ensuring the core mission of the organization is supported, dependable, and sustainable. Are they (are we) accountable and do they (do we) own our respective roles and areas?

It is important to have processes in place to enforce good habits, best practices and consistency to ensure the objectives of up time and performance are met. Here is where I introduce ownership and accountability. In large, complex environments (and increasingly in smaller settings) the number of moving parts can be overwhelming. That said, it is critical we understand the impact and risks associated with any action (or inaction) within our systems. It is critical that we own our actions and technologies and that we are accountable for what we do and how we act.

Let me fist talk about ownership. This doesn't require much discussion. You must know who owns the technology and you must know who is accountable for changes that affect your core enterprise and mission critical applications. Along the way, these applications are supported through different layers of the environment - the network, security, systems, storage, database layers and application administration. Any change in any area will (not may, will) have some impact and risk on the visible delivery. Knowing who owns each component and knowing that a defined process will be used to manage each layer is critical. Ownership infers action - action of reviewing what is necessary to ensure the health of your environment, recommendations to improve availability and performance, and actions of testing and vetting what will ultimately become a production change. Owners do and inform. Find and appoint good owners.

Now for accountability. Accountability means you are willing to be measured by what you say you will do and how you perform. Accountability means you understand the impact of your actions and take measures to ensure the mission of your division and organization will not be jeopardized by lack of focus, unwillingness to follow process or laziness to properly inform regarding impending risks. But accountability goes deeper. We each must recognize we're accountable to ourselves and what we've been called to do. I partially explained that above as it relates to certain duties, but it also means that we operate with integrity, with a spirit of cooperation, and a willingness to seek input. We are accountable to our co-workers. We owe them our best efforts so they don't have to pick up our slack. We need to also seek to help those around us be successful. And are we accountable for our actions and how they align to our department and company? Do we speak well and promote those that employ or hire us? If not - how are we being accountable for the pay or fees we receive? Accountability - something to consider for sure.

When things go well, we can sometimes get relaxed... our level of ownership and accountability may start to wane. Don't let it! Insist that even the smallest detail of process is followed, deliberately and intentionally. Enforce good behavior - it will pay dividends. Do yourself a favor - avoid unnecessary headaches, black eyes, and embarrassment!

As you consider technology management, think about how ownership and accountability inform your actions and form the teams that are built for success.

Blessings,
John