Four years ago, when I elected to pursue an opportunity in Miami, my Chief Information Officer asked me to provide the important factors he should consider when selecting the next BRM Director for the Louisiana Office of Technology Services (OTS). I provided a narrative, dividing the responsibilities between the Tangible and Intangible. For this post, there would be limited value in including the Tangible Responsibilities, but I did list 97 tasks that I was personally responsible for. What follows, though, is what I consider is a strong overview of BRM Director Responsibilities.
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Business Relationship Building: Building a relationship with the executives of 25 state departments that are supported by OTS is a key element in the OTS Service Delivery Strategy. Each BRM is responsible for establishing and maintaining such relationships, but it is equally important for the BRM Director to have credibility in the eyes of these executives. The BRM Director must have the discernment to quickly understand the position he/she would be wise to take in any given situation: a calm, cool demeanor and the ability to relate in a sincere, honest, and respectful manner is highly recommended. The idea is to de-escalate situations, when emotions are high, so the department, the BRM, and OTS can work to resolve whatever situation has presented itself.
OTS Relationship Building: OTS is a large and complex organization that provided IT services and support to a wide variety of partner agencies. It is incumbent upon the BRM Director to understand the OTS mission, services, processes, technologies, and strategies that are in play at any given time and to be able to tap into key contacts with each OTS section for the escalation / resolution of high profile issues. Again, discernment is a key for the BRM Director, as he/she needs to know when to escalate (and to what level) and when the normal pace / process its still appropriately in play, because a constant escalation strategy will negatively impact normal OTS operations, which would be damaging to his/her relationship with key members of the OTS sections.
Contractor Relationship Building: Due to the sheer volume of IT services and support required by our partner agencies, OTS relies heavily on contractors, through a variety of procurement vehicles. The BRM Director must possess the experience and confidence to interface with contractors, ranging from less experienced technical resources all the way up to the CEO level. The key for the BRM Director is to always seek a win-win situation for OTS and the contractor, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable differences: he/she needs the knowledge and flexibility to work out a deal with the contractor in any situation.
BRM Management: The BRM Team is small in numbers, but it is populated with very experienced IT professionals, who possess an average of 25+ years of experience. The BRM Team understands the crucial nature of their responsibilities and take pride in the roles that play for OTS and the partner agencies. Even with this in mind, members of the team will oftentimes need advice on how to move an initiative forward and will sometimes need assistance to get issues escalated when normal steps have hit a roadblock. The BRM Director must maintain awareness of the active issues and be ready to intercede on behalf of his/her BRM's on a moment's notice, because if a BRM is escalating an issue, it usually means the partner agency is in dire need.
Additionally, BRM's will occasionally misstep in trying to do their jobs effectively. When their actions are contrary to the way OTS does business, it is incumbent upon the BRM Director to not only course correct the BRM, but to also explain why the correction was necessary, so we will not have similar situations in the future.
CIO Executive Team: Although the job description says otherwise, the BRM Director essentially serves at the pleasure of the State CIO, who is tasked with responsibilities from a variety of sources: partner agencies, the Commissioner's Office, the Office of the Governor, federal authorities, the State Legislature, and a host of auditors. Additionally, the CIO expects his team to respond accordingly to external threats, such as natural disasters, ransomware attacks and other unforeseen events. The BRM Director must be willing to respond at any time to the CIO's call and be ready to tap into his/her institutional knowledge, experience, and professional contacts to efficiently advance the initiative at-hand.
Special Assignments: To say it in a nutshell, the BRM Director needs to know how OTS works. The BRM Director must have / develop the institutional knowledge of how to get things done, and these "things" could come from any direction and encompass just about anything imaginable. When faced with such tasks, the BRM Director must be able to quickly consider the best approach to take in any situation and then lead the effort - working alone or as part of a team - to achieve the desired result on the timeline provided. Some people struggle in the abstract sense; the BRM Director must have the ability to figure out a solution, direction, and methodology on the fly.
Best Business Practices: The Business Relationship Management Institute is the foremost recognized organizational authority, advancing the BRM discipline among its public and private sector members. As such, the BRM Institute has a number of offering available for members that will allow them to acquire relationship management skills that are provided by their experts: the BRM Book of Knowledge, BRMP and CBRM certification programs, classes taught by Registered Education Providers on BRM topics, and an Online Campus that enable working BRM's from across the globe to learn from one another. The BRM Director should utilize these resources to the greatest extent possible to help his/her staff achieve more business and OTS goals, by helping them advance their BRM knowledge base and apply them to every initiative that is being pursued.
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That's a long post! If you are still reading, thank you for that and be sure to leave any thoughts or questions below. And, as always, feel free to reach out on my Contact Page if you would like to explore how we can Simplify IT for you.
David
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