If you're serious about becoming a successful, well-rounded IT professional, you need to constantly broaden your skills and knowledge -- and in some areas that might surprise you. This list details key competencies that will help advance your career.
Enjoying a successful career as an IT professional has always presented a challenge, in that you're expected to be a jack of all trades, master of none. Or maybe that's a master of all trades, jack of none. In any case, and however you approach it, you need a bewildering and ever-expanding array of cross-functional competencies to get and stay on top of your game. One thing in particular should strike you about the following list: Most of the competencies lie beyond the traditional IT skill set and could be equally well applied to other functional disciplines. There's less difference between us and "them" than is usually thought.
1. Understanding existing and emerging technologies
Probably the most fundamental competency that all IT professionals need is a deep and broad knowledge base in their bread-and-butter technical skill sets. If we were talking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, this would be the food and water level: No matter what else, you must have this for simple survival. Take courses, read publications, research products, join a professional organisation, but make sure you have all the information you need on the technology you're using, along with the best practices for applying it.
If you go for certifications, remember your goal is not simply to put more letters after your name but to maximise the value of the educational experience. Winning the game requires that you not only keep your eye on the ball but also anticipate what the next pitch will be. Historical evidence suggests that the average lifespan of any system is approximately 18 months, so the planning process for how you're going to replace what you just built starts pretty much the moment you finish building it. Planning is a lot more effective when you know what you're talking about. Being informed on emerging trends is a fundamental job responsibility, something in our business that needs to be done daily to keep up.
2. Designing technical architecture
Anyone can build a system component that as an individual function is brilliantly conceived and executed. But if it sputters and groans when you plug it into the larger system, you haven't accomplished very much. Whether you're responsible for overall application and network design or part of a team building components in support of an enterprise architecture, you need to know the principles of good, solid architectural design.
The design of an effective technical architecture puts the pieces together such that the machine works without sacrificing ease of use and cost. I've always found that architectural design is best done when based on Occam's Razor, which literally translates from Latin as "entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." Stated another way, simpler is better. When thinking about design, remember that while every organisation has some unique processes, most operational procedures are fairly common and can be addressed with configurable commodity solutions. Many architectures can be based on buying and assembling a fairly small number of pre-existing components rather than trying to reinvent a better mousetrap. By so doing, you can typically provide your customers with a quality, easy-to-operate product in less time and at less cost. This same concept translates equally well to the design and development of individual applications and systems.
3. Integrating systems
Technology serves many purposes, and high on the list of important capabilities is automating processes. Rather than use traditional methods of ordering supplies, managing inventory, and getting products to market, supply chain processing streamlines the operation by allowing suppliers and producers to control the complex interactions that enable raw materials to move through the manufacturing process and get finished goods in the hands of customers. Any organisation that has an architecture populated by legacy systems (and who doesn't) can improve productivity through better movement of data through those applications. Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory compliances require companies to certify internal controls, which are often found at the common boundaries between systems. As products and platforms continue to proliferate and as companies increasingly connect their systems with others, high quality interoperability is imperative.
4. Understanding business practices, approaches, organisation, politics, and culture
Corporate entities are complex organisms, and just like snowflakes, no two are the same. The dynamics that drive how a particular business operates are not easily understood. Oftentimes, especially in larger organisations, multiple cultures must be reckoned with -- one at the enterprise level and others at the divisional or departmental level. And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, your finely honed instincts about how your company works fail you in the wake of a merger or management upheaval that changes everything. We ignore politics at our own peril. We may dislike ostrich managers -- those who put their heads in the sand and pretend nothing's going on out there. But we can't be so smug as to think we can navigate treacherous corporate waters without paying any attention to the strength of the tides or the direction of the winds. Likewise, although much about organisational dynamics is generic, transferable knowledge, it's foolish to think that success in one corporate environment guarantees success in another. We must learn the idiosyncracies of each new environment we find ourselves in.
5. Managing projects; planning, prioritising, and administering work
Joe Torre is commonly regarded as one of the best managers of all time. It's doubtful that the New York Yankees would have had nine out of 10 first place finishes, six AL championships, and four World Series rings since 1995 if Joe didn't have a pretty good game plan. Not just a plan on how to get to and win in the post season each year, but a plan for each and every game.
Whether you're a manager or a player, a superstar or a second stringer, you have to be able to plan your work for the short and long term. What do you plan to do today? This week? This year? How are you going to achieve that? Ask a lot of questions that begin with "what" and "how." If you're a developer or a net admin and you have any designs on making it into the management ranks someday, you need to be developing those planning skills right now. If you can't manage yourself, you're surely going to have a hard time successfully managing people and complex projects.
