Under-pressure IT bosses are slipping up

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 percent claimed they lack the time to consider problems carefully.

A further 17 percent blamed poor decisions on bureaucracy and 31 percent 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 percent consulting their team and 66 percent 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 percent of respondents said training has influenced their ability, 58 percent said they have gained confidence from international experience and 82 percent from undertaking development programmes.

IT chiefs should not be too scared of making the wrong decision occasionally, though. "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," said Jo Causon, CMI marketing and corporate affairs director. "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."