A clear role of management should be to clarify which roles are accountable for what actions. I'm talking a little broader here. There is this infamous saga of the confused team.
Four colleagues named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody worked together. Important research needed to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody actually did it. Somebody got angry, because it was really Everybody's responsibility. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Somebody wouldn't. As it turned out Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done! Without doing the research Everybody spent a lot more time of this solution, when with the research it would have been simply done.
This happens quite frequently when roles and responsibilities are vague, and in a couple of individuals with Teflon coating for accountability and you have a real spaghetti monster.
As leaders and managers figuring out what the DBA group is responsible for and what the client server team is responsible should be done. When the lines are harried and crossed, problems arise and critical tasks are never carried out. The end result is that your applications and infrastructure will end up being a variation - riddled brittle structure with 15 different ways to accomplish the same function, and no one monitoring the controls.
If you find yourself in this situation, take a week and write up a single operating level agreement for one of your preceived responsibilities. For the remainder of the month, vet the operational level agreement with the management team to assure everyone agrees this is your team's responsibility and is satisfied with the agreement. Make sure you have good discussions if you do not have the staffing to meet the demand. At least you will be leading by example and hopefully start a trend. Worst case is that you end up with a responsibility for which your team has a skillset gap.
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Welcome to the Healthcare IT Project Management Blog of Elyse Nielsen. This is the place where I share the ideas I have learned, the things I’d like to remember, and my thoughts for a brighter future. Find out more.
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