Comment IT segregation (Score 2, Insightful) 231
Quit representing yourselves as part of an IT dept. Quit thinking of yourselves as part of an IT dept. Start representing and thinking of yourselves as part of a Regional Airline.
The management above you, who fear and distrust IT due to their technical ignorance, smell the us vs. them that you put out (duh, of course you smell it from them too, the difference is that their smell is caused through ignorance and fear, yours is caused by disdain and a sense of geekish superiority {okay, _maybe_ your IT dept. doesn't do that, but 95% do.) You can choose to become business aware and conversant easier than they can become technically savvy and conversant.
And surprise, surprise, surprise! Therein lies career pathing. Business and technical savvy married in one person. Move up because you're trusted, not feared. Sure, some, maybe many will want to never leave the warm fuzzies of the technical garden they have planted and nurtured. But those paths just go in circles and curly-Qs.
They've got the money. Either get your own, start a revolution, or get them to WANT to give you more of theirs (cause it'll make more for them.)
P.S. 75% of the revenue may come THROUGH the IT dept. But not FROM the IT dept. That's a clear example of not thinking like part of the Business. Sorry.
The management above you, who fear and distrust IT due to their technical ignorance, smell the us vs. them that you put out (duh, of course you smell it from them too, the difference is that their smell is caused through ignorance and fear, yours is caused by disdain and a sense of geekish superiority {okay, _maybe_ your IT dept. doesn't do that, but 95% do.) You can choose to become business aware and conversant easier than they can become technically savvy and conversant.
And surprise, surprise, surprise! Therein lies career pathing. Business and technical savvy married in one person. Move up because you're trusted, not feared. Sure, some, maybe many will want to never leave the warm fuzzies of the technical garden they have planted and nurtured. But those paths just go in circles and curly-Qs.
They've got the money. Either get your own, start a revolution, or get them to WANT to give you more of theirs (cause it'll make more for them.)
P.S. 75% of the revenue may come THROUGH the IT dept. But not FROM the IT dept. That's a clear example of not thinking like part of the Business. Sorry.
