Why Every IT Leader Needs a Team of Trusted Advisors

In today's rapidly evolving technology world, an IT leader can't know everything, particularly when it comes to emerging technologies and business practices. Since nothing beats hands-on experience, it's always a good idea to seek advice and insights from trusted colleagues. Your personal advisory team can help you make informed decisions and avoid disastrous mistakes. 

A team of trusted advisors can help an IT leader navigate challenges more effectively and drive success in a complex technological landscape, says Rohan Sud, a managing director with Deloitte Consulting. "Trusted advisors bring diverse expertise and aid in identifying risks, opportunities and improving strategic planning and decision-making," he explains in an online interview. "Not only does this foster innovation, but it also improves the leader's creditability and personal brand." 

There are two types of advisory teams, says Stephanie L. Woerner, director of the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). The first is an internal team, typically comprised of business colleagues, who work together to create and capture value from enterprise digital investments. "This group has a common goal and, as such, coalesces more naturally," she observes in an email interview. When building this type of team, the IT leader must have strong credibility, choosing professionals who can run the IT organization effectively. This allows the leader to have the time to coordinate, collaborate, and advise business colleagues. 

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The second type of team, the most common kind, helps the IT leader acquire new skills, stay on top of emerging technologies, and form connections with promising early-stage companies. "The IT leader has to be more proactive in building this kind of advisory team — looking for events like hackathons, pitch sessions for new start-ups, and classes, lectures, and training sessions to attend, and then meeting and talking to participants to identify the right people," Woerner says. Finding colleagues who are curious, like to debate technology trends and topics, and are perhaps digital natives — meaning they have a different perspective — takes time, but is worthwhile in the learnings and digital savviness that can be gained, she notes. 

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