The following post was written by IT-oLogy Columbia Executive Director, Todd Lewis.
Calling All Current and Future IT Leaders! You’re Needed Now More Than Ever.
The longer I have worked in the information technology industry, the more I realize the importance of leadership. It is the most important factor determining the success of a project, or any endeavor for that matter. However, I’ve noticed that strong leaders are difficult to find, in all fields, including information technology.
So with the importance of IT at an all time high (an opinion we hold here at IT-oLogy), and the need for effective IT leaders never greater, what does an organization dedicated to growing the IT pipeline and profession do? We create a Leadership Series, of course.
I’m immensely proud to announce the 2014 IT-oLogy Leadership Series, and I encourage any current or future IT leader to strongly consider participating. The Series will consist of the following one-day events:
South Carolina Summit on IT, April 23
This first event will feature IT leaders from across all industry verticals in South Carolina, including CIO’s, CTO’s, CEO’s, economic developers, state and municipal officials, elected officials at every level of government, and educators. The purpose is to discuss the state of IT in South Carolina, how IT influences every industry sector, and what we need to do moving forward to ensure South Carolina remains competitive.
Connections, June 11
In partnership with Connect South Carolina, IT-oLogy is hosting Connections to showcase unique uses of technology and innovative design in a range of industries. In addition, this event serves as the annual summit for Connect South Carolina and their work that facilitates the deployment of broadband throughout South Carolina.
Trends, September 10
Along with ITs|SC, Columbia’s Insurance Technology and Services Cluster, Trends 2014 will take a forward look at current market trends for business leaders to prepare their organizations and embrace IT challenges. In addition, we will focus on Columbia’s increasingly strong insurance sector to showcase innovative examples of coming trends.
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While countless books and articles have been written about leadership, I personally define leadership as the ability to influence and lead others toward a goal due to deep knowledge and experience in a particular area, combined with strong communication skills. Needless to say, all three of the aforementioned events provide that opportunity for knowledge and networking opportunities to hone your IT and industry specific IQ. In addition, your communication skills will be infinitely better when you know more, and learn how to convey it effectively by listening and learning from others.
So who’s invited to these events and who should attend? I emphatically believe every CIO, CTO, and IT manager should as well as anyone aspiring to have influence in an organization. As I said earlier, we desperately need more leaders in the IT field. We need to make current leaders better, and we need to provide face-to-face opportunities for those who will lead in the future.
We’ll continue to develop and deliver K-12 programming, and we’ll continue managing CoursePower and other initiatives in higher education, but for professional development, this series could not be more important. Leadership is often the difference between success and failure, and I very much want to see Columbia and South Carolina succeed.