How much do you know about your organization's IT department?
The Challenge
Invite someone from your organization's IT department for lunch or coffee sometime this week. Take 15 minutes to learn more about their work--what the department's biggest concerns are right now, how they view their interaction with your department, and anything else that would give you a better understanding of the role they play in your organization (and how THEY view their role). If you don't work somewhere with an IT department, reach out to a friend or connection on LinkedIn who works in IT.
Why do this?
If you're usually focused on client-facing work or products, it's easy to lose track of what other departments are doing. Learning more about the internal workings of your office can help you in numerous ways--to see the bigger picture of the organization's mission, to build relationships that can help you advance, and to bridge the silos that sometimes develop in larger organizations. (By the way, if you noticed that this challenge is similar to another one you've done, you're right. It is! We developed a short series on business acumen, and this challenge is part of that series.)
This challenge is part of a series that encourages you to learn more about the specialized knowledge and expertise needed to run your organization.
What’s next?
After your conversation, jot down a few notes about what you learned. Does anything you heard change how you view an aspect of your work or workplace? Do you have any other questions you'd like to ask them as a follow-up? Don't forget to thank the person you talked with for their time!
