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IT chiefs "pressured" into making mistakes
Peer pressure and bureaucracy to blame?

By Steve Ranger

Published: Friday 18 November 2005

Half of IT bosses admit to making bad decisions in the last six months because of pressure from colleagues, and lack of time and resources.

One in four senior managers in the IT industry said undue pressure from colleagues affected the way they made decisions and 21 per cent claimed they lack the time to consider problems carefully.

A further 17 per cent blamed poor decisions on bureaucracy and 31 per cent cited a lack of resources, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute.

Despite this, four out of five managers in the IT industry are confident about their own decision-making abilities.

Many recognise the need to consult others, with 86 per cent consulting their team and 66 per cent with stakeholders. The research found that most managers prefer to make decisions based on rational analysis - although one in five still go on their gut feelings.

Training is also key to improving management skills - 52 per cent of respondents said training has influenced their ability, 58 per cent said they have gained confidence from international experience and 82 per cent from undertaking development programmes.

IT chiefs should not be too scared of making the wrong decision occasionally, though. CMI marketing and corporate affairs director, Jo Causon, said: "Often people are afraid about making mistakes. But it's worth remembering that, sometimes, more can be learnt from errors than from getting things right.

"It's important to accept that you may not always get things right but by making sure that you are informed and well prepared before making your final decision, you will minimise the potential for errors and wrong choices."