Palmer, who spoke at Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders conference on Monday, led the development of an IT management training program that was so successful that it has been adopted by her company's human resources department for use in other areas of the Lowell, Ark.-based trucking firm.
But for many organizations, the thoughtful recruitment and development of future IT leaders remains a back-burner concern.
"As long as tech organizations can run reasonably effective, there is no imperative to focus on leadership development," said Jerry Bartlett, CIO at online stock broker TD Ameritrade. Bartlett took part in a panel discussion on IT leadership Tuesday.
The curriculums of university computer science and engineering departments ignore leadership development, and companies then fail to fill the vacuum, he said. "My biggest concern is that by giving short shrift [to leadership], there will be a lack of extraordinary leaders in the next generation," he said.
Palmer said she strongly believes in surveys that show that an employee's performance is most correlated with the quality of his boss, not with salary or company culture. "Actually, that's very exciting, because that is something you actually have a lot of influence over," she said.
For J.B. Hunt's 340-strong IT team, Palmer created a three-part program to identify and train future IT leaders. Management aspirants are first identified through managers' recommendations, along with a battery of tests such as the Myers-Briggs personality test. "Really smart people aren't always the best decision-makers," she said, adding that introverts aren't always unsuitable for management positions.
Management trainees at J.B. Hunt are then assigned an industrial psychologist -- their "office linebacker coach" -- who assigns homework. The trainees also take classes and role-play management scenarios, often in front of actual managers. "When the senior leadership is watching, there is real risk and pressure," she said.
For Columbia, Md.-based TD Ameritrade, Bartlett paid out of his own budget for an 18-month management training program that involves a full day of training each month and pairing trainees up with mentors. "It's quite a commitment," he said.
One reason that technicians may need more management training than people in other professions is because of the very narrow scope of their jobs. "Our profession is made up of specialists, from graphic designers to network technicians," said Bill Regehr, senior vice-president of IT for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, another member of the panel. "There's a shortage of people who can put together the whole thing."
Some IT organizations are too small to have formal training programs. Regehr oversees a team of only 25 people, despite the fact that the nonprofit Boys and Girls Clubs of America operates more than 3,700 facilities nationwide. "As a result, we were always pretty ramble-scramble," he said.
Other IT organizations don't have many opportunities for younger talent to rise. Out of the top 200 IT positions at hotel chain Marriott International Inc., for instance, only three turned over in 2004, said Wendell Fox, senior vice president of Marriott's North American Information Resources Field Services. "If there's no movement at the top, there's very little room to move," he said.
But that could soon change as the aging baby boomer generation gets set for retirement. At Southern Co., the average age of some 1,000 IT workers is 47, and retirements can start as early as age 55, according to CIO Rebecca Blalock. For the Atlanta, Ga.-based energy utility, Blalock developed a two-year leadership program that recently graduated its first class. Three out of 24 graduates have already been promoted into business roles, she said, with another six getting similar opportunities.
While Palmer believes that leadership qualities can be developed, finding good candidates is key, too. As one of Palmer's mentors once said: "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig."
While some IT managers believe that the traditional "command-and-control" style of managing will hold sway in the years to come, others argue that change is coming.
"CIOs will need to lead differently than we do today," Regehr said. "We're more hierarchical in our approach." But with the democratizing effect of e-mail, instant messaging and cell phones, leadership will have to be "more about peer relationships in the next generation," he added.
Future CIOs "will have to be great communicators," said Blalock. "That's a skill that is very hard to find."
Bartlett tends to agree, which is why he is starting a leadership training program for all 800 members of his staff. "This is whether or not they want to become a manager, because, really, everyone is a leader."