The Modern IT Professional: Five Must-Have Human Skills

“The future happens slowly, and then all at once.”

COVID-19 tipped the world on its axis and shifted our perspective in terms of work toward the task of balancing all kinds of new and disruptive challenges. Organizations were forced to cope with the disruption of having to migrate their employees back home. As we adapted to the unfamiliar routine of waking up and commuting a matter of feet, we learned more about the value of certain implicit skillsets.

Industries such as IT, synonymous with a technically savvy workforce, had to brace itself against this culture shock while keeping the future in mind. Part of this realization was an awareness of the growing emphasis on soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving.

This article examines the growing influence of some of these skillsets within the IT industry, the role they are poised to play going forward, and some of the measures organizations can take to promote their development internally.

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#1 Communication and Collaboration

What do we mean by communication and collaboration?

Communication involves the exchange of information, aimed at achieving a better understanding of a topic or problem; collaboration concerns the exchange of information for the purpose of advancing or completing a task.

Why are both important within the IT industry?

Communication and collaboration effectively represent different stages of the same process. Good communication is a prerequisite to successful collaboration. IT professionals navigating high-level tasks need to understand the value of being able to communicate requirements at a lower level of resolution than they are used to. Breaking down complex issues and communicating them in simple terms allows more stakeholders to get involved, helping to share the burden of work across a wider range of professionals and departments.

How can organizations promote communication and collaboration?

• Time spent in the office: While we have long departed from the traditional office working dynamic, we should not underestimate the value of regular face-to-face engagement with colleagues. In-person interaction is quickly becoming underappreciated, especially for what it can do to improve such areas as communication and collaboration among struggling teams. Sometimes a five-minute, face-to-face chat can do more toward advancing a task than hours spent alone trying to work around it yourself.
• Lead from the top down: Collaboration is not an isolated exercise exclusive to fresh recruits and lower-level employees. Management should aim to emphasize their commitment to working across departments and outside the arms-length reach of other C-Suite level professionals. When it comes to training, executives should use the opportunity to advertise their commitment to training by taking it, not just issuing instructions for others to take it. The message should be that there is always something new to learn, no matter where you sit within the hierarchy.

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#2 Critical Thinking

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking involves the analysis of evidence, facts, and observations to form the basis of a judgement.

Why is critical thinking important within the IT industry?

Whether a team is troubleshooting a software problem or trying to better understand the bandwidth of a newly-adopted technology, critical thinking stands out as one of the most useful tools. Critical thinking requires asking the unobvious questions of difficult problems. The clarity to gain from framing a task in a new way – or approaching the application of a certain technology to a new end – can often lead to the coveted eureka moment.

How can organizations promote critical thinking?

Clarify a process: Refining a procedure when it comes to thinking critically can prove difficult, especially when we consider how some people naturally take to confronting unorthodox problems, and how challenging it can be for others. Irrespective of the natural temperament of the individuals involved, employees should have some type of training to reference. Such a resource can help to spark progress when things may have gone stale.

[How to Become a Critical Thinker Using this 3 Step Process]

#3 Problem Solving

What is problem solving?

Simply put, problem solving is a mental activity which entails the discovery, analysis, and resolving of problems.

Why is it important in the IT industry?

Individuals within the IT industry are usually highly skilled. The work of a software development team, for example, will see a client ideally agree on (and stick to) deliverables and decide on deadlines that the team can work toward.

However, the vast majority of the time, requirements change. Furthermore, those requesting changes often do not have a technical background. What they perceive as a minor change may in fact take a developer days to remedy. In this context, teams will inevitably and naturally run into problems. These problems only become a risk to project completion if teams do not have the right tools and techniques to navigate uncertainty.

How can an organization promote problem solving?

Sticking with the software development team example, organizations should ensure that team members are proficient at:

• Root cause analysis – this will allow the team to identify, assess, and resolve issues.
• Mitigating risk – risks are inevitable in software development. Teams that identify risks at an early stage can naturally manage them more effectively. Proactive organizations will instill a culture where risk is viewed as part of the solution as opposed to the cause of problems. This will allow IT project managers, for example, to successfully manage stakeholders throughout a project’s life-cycle.
• Evaluating options – there can be many paths to resolving an issue. Jumping to the quickest fix may not always be the optimal choice. Teams that judge the best way forward based on an analysis of all options will inevitably implement better solutions.

[Why Mindset Matters: A Creative Approach to Human Skill Building]

#4 Creativity

What is creativity?

Creativity involves looking at tasks and situations through a new lens, using imagination backed up by experience to generate new ideas.

Why is creativity important in the IT industry?

There are many reasons why creativity is important in the IT industry. For instance:

• Creative employees will devise unique client solutions as opposed to recommending standard, out-of-the-box packages. In a competitive IT market where product differentiation is often blurred, creativity will be a hallmark of successful growth.
• Creative teams will come up with the best ways to solve problems and will adopt agile approaches to problem solving. Uncreative teams will follow the same processes which over time will not play to the strengths of an increasingly diverse workforce.

How can an organization promote creativity?

Organizations can build a culture of creativity in many ways, including:

• Team building exercises enable colleagues to develop strong connections with each other. In the post-pandemic world, these events ideally occur in-person, with the end goal being colleagues that are comfortable around each other, encouraging collaboration and innovation.
• Office design can influence creativity. Something as simple as sit-stand desks that allow employees to work comfortably, for example. Equally, a vibrant canteen space where people can socialize builds morale and encourages knowledge transfer.
• Flexible work arrangements that are sensitive to the unique situations of employees are optimal. This thoughtful attention to detail will ensure employees are both energized and engaged. This flexibility can also help employees see their dedicated team office days as valuable rather than a time-wasting trudge.

#5 Agility

What is agility?

Business agility is defined as a quality of nimbleness in an organization’s culture, leadership, strategy, and governance that adds value to all stakeholders who operate in uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments.

Why is agility important in the IT industry?

Agility from an organizational context should be considered in the context of:

• Agile thinking as the ability to knowingly shift thinking styles based on the situation at hand.
• Agile workplaces as a type of work environment designed to create a flexible workspace for employees.

Both aspects of agility are relevant within the IT industry. For example, technological advancement is volatile by nature, requiring constant change and innovation. Organizations with agile employees are better placed to overcome roadblocks and come up with the best solutions for their clients.

Equally, creating environments that foster agility is increasingly important, particularly as today’s organizations adapt to the shifting expectations of workers.

How can an organization promote agility?

There are many ways to promote an agile culture within IT organizations:

• Office spaces should favor wider, open-plan arrangements where colleagues can interact and problem solve freely and efficiently.
• Where possible, IT project managers should shift to more agile methods and processes from project inception to completion.
• Leaders can reward employees regularly and promote a flexible working model that revolves around deliverables as opposed to rigid working hours.
• The overarching goal should be to break down traditional silos, creating a safe space to collaborate and innovate.

How can an IT organization promote these skills?

There is no one way to best promote these skills. Adopting a blended approach to skill development is recommended. An example could look something like the below:

• On the job experience is naturally the best way for employees to sharpen these skills. Organizations that ensure their leaders are proficient in the above skills should experience a trickledown effect where leaders instill these skills throughout the whole organization, both through example and by mentoring.

• Knowledge transfer from colleagues builds on the first method. Organizations that promote knowledge transfer both formally and informally should be better placed to tackle problems creatively and in an agile manner. Inter-departmental meetings and team bonding events are examples of initiatives that allow colleagues to build relationships and transfer knowledge seamlessly.

• Training initiatives can help fill knowledge gaps. Organizations should conduct regular training needs analyses to identify the soft skills that need the most attention. From there, the most suitable training methods can be rolled out.

Since soft skills are transferable across industries, a mix of off-the-shelf digital training, coupled with in-person and virtual, instructor-led sessions, is optimal. This should cover all bases considering not all team members will be physically in an office five days a week.

Being mindful of how to best use training technology is important. For instance, configuring training platforms so that content can be targeted to departments and individuals will be essential to engagement with programs.

Depending on the organization, a particular method may be more suitable than another. More traditional organizations may require more intense training, for example, as they embark on a cultural change from rigid to agile processes.

Conclusion

Smart and forward-thinking IT organizations must look to develop the above skills in their employees if they are to overcome and thrive in an unstable market. Doing so will ensure employees are capable of upskilling and reskilling as technology changes at an exponential rate.

At Intuition, we have developed a digital training library that addresses those very core human skills required to survive in the modern, post-pandemic world of work. Click on the button below if you want to learn more.

Authors:

Conor Prendergast

Conor is a Commercial Technology Associate for Intuition, based out of their IFSC Dublin HQ.

Conor writes for Intuition on topics ranging from Cryptocurrencies, Digital Therapeutics, Emerging Markets, HCP Education, CBDCs and trends within the Pharmaceutical Compliance space.

Cian Dooley

Cian’s role at Intuition is to understand the digital learning needs of organizations and help implement appropriate technology solutions that meet the needs of the learner and the business.

Cian helps clients with the digital transformation of learning and training initiatives in areas including onboarding and induction, customer/client education, compliance training, and more.