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WILMINGTON, N.C.— When Anthony Kent left big tech for Four County EMC, he learned that to communicate effectively with co-op leaders, he had to get out of the weeds of information technology and speak their language.
“It’s on us to be better communicators and help leadership understand what we are talking about,” said Kent, IT vice president at the Burgaw, North Carolina-based co-op. “We IT people need to learn to communicate better with leadership so they want to communicate with us.”
Kent and Tanner Greer, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Lenior-based Blue Ridge Energy, discussed how IT staff can improve communication with their co-op management and boards at the Cooperative Technologies Conference & Expo hosted by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives last week.
“Boards understand strategic plans, and that’s what they want to be presented with,” said Greer, who recommended planning no more than three years out to keep pace with tech changes. “Formulate initiatives. Create metrics to show it’s getting done and ways to track progress.”
CEOs want to see tech proposals that show a project’s financial impact and cost, risk and liability, and how it affects members and employees, he told the breakout session. Any IT strategic plan “needs to focus on these top three.”
And he added, “Never think that because you explained it once that it’s understood.”
Kent and Greer offered several tips for how IT staff should approach discussions about tech projects, challenges and system requirements to CEOs and board members, including:
- Keep jargon and acronyms to a minimum.
- Break down complex technical information.
- Put yourself in their shoes.
- Keep to an appropriate level of detail.
IT solutions should address business goals and be communicated as such to ensure sufficient buy-in. Finding cross-functional collaboration and support across the co-op on projects wherever possible will help boost their success, they said.
“Know that IT is more than a support function—we are business enablers,” Kent said. “We touch everyone.”
A good analogy tailored to your audience might be more meaningful than a comprehensive presentation on specific technologies, Greer and Kent said.
“Whether they’re a Marine or a farmer with a flip phone, you have to keep that in mind so your information is relatable to them,” said Kent.
