Nontechnical skills for techies.

I see fewer and fewer ICT specialists who are only concerned with technology. Even, or perhaps especially, software developers nowadays work on agile projects. And then it is the intention that they work transparently. They participate in standups, retrospectives, reviews, and more of that beauty. We think it's normal that they have the skills to do that well.

This also applies to administrators, consultants, engineers, and service desk employees. Communication skills are part of the toolbox of today's ICT professionals. That trend started a few years ago. In 2022 they are more important than ever. Now is the time to prepare for the future as an IT professional. If you don't, you'll fall out of the boat.

Technology is disappearing

Companies that do not yet use cloud services are at least thinking about it. The technical stuff disappears to a data center. That means quite a bit for the average IT administrator. What do you manage if there is no more technology? As an IT administrator, you get a directing role and that means hassle with users. Are you up for that hassle? It's high time to think about it seriously. What kind of role would you like to have? And what are you doing now to ensure that you fit into that role later? 2022 is the year to get serious about this.

The human side of IT teams Today's

IT environments require strong and effective teams. It doesn't matter whether they are development or management teams. I still see that managers are mainly concerned with processes, procedures, responsibilities, and roles. Very important of course.

The foundation of a strong team is in people and things. Mutual trust. Safety. Openness. That stuff. If you forget those, forget the procedures and processes. It's not going to work. Or at least not well. Dear manager, 2022 is the year to take a serious look at the human side of ICT teams.

ICT adoption

We have long thought that ICT that works well from a technical point of view will automatically land well in an organization. I see more and more aware that it doesn't work that way. Tech stuff can be fantastic. If people hate it, then the heels will dig in and the project will fail. We have to make sure it lands right. And that is not so simple. Most ICT specialists do not find dealing with people interesting. Communication specialists do, but they often do not understand ICT sufficiently. People are needed who understand both worlds and who can connect ICT professionals and an organization. 2022 could well be the year of ICT adoption.

These are my twists and turns around the turn of the year. I'm curious if you see it that way too. Am I missing something or am I wrong?

I'm curious!