Buying the skills needed for a particular project or department is very tempting for senior managers. The grass often looks greener when viewed from a distance.
Growing a team of IT professionals with all of the skills needed to keep up with changes in competition, technology, and business can be challenging and may not keep pace with the rapid industry changes. However, bringing in talent from the outside is not necessarily the easy, fast, or inexpensive answer either.
More often than not companies are going to have to use both rather than “either/or.”
For employees who are already part of the team, seeing a new hire or an outside consultant come in can be discouraging. It’s natural to ask what has this person got to offer that I don’t?
And, that’s probably exactly the question that needs to be asked. Appreciating the unique skills of others will not only help you realistically assess your own skills, but it also provides a great learning opportunity for those willing to learn.
Carol Dweck’s best selling book, Mindset, provides examples of what she refers to as the “growth mindset” and the “fixed mindset.” People who are confident of their own skills and focused on always improving have the growth mindset. Michael Jordan is one of the people profiled in her book. Rather than being content with his ample skills, he was always pushing himself to learn and get better. He viewed failure as a learning opportunity and the famous quote about how many game-winning shots he missed was in the context of “I have room to improve.”
The decision to grow in-house talent or bring in talent from the outside is not a black and white decision. At times building a strong in-house team is the highest priority. And, of course, skill growth is something IT managers need to keep cultivating. At other times, bringing in outside talent is the right decision in order to accelerate the growth of the entire team.
Either way, look for ways to continue growing.