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IT recruiters and IT managers are always on the lookout for IT contractors that are self-starters, focused, and productive.  Sometimes the burden of making sure an IT consultant fits that bill might fall upon the IT manager, though.  In order to be truly effective as an IT professional, or really a professional in any field beyond information technology, somebody needs to have a good understanding of the bigger picture. 

So what does this mean exactly and how can it achieved?  To make sure workers understand the meaning of their IT jobs, they need to understand the goals of the company and how their individual job fits into those goals.  To know the significance of one’s daily tasks gives them a greater sense of urgency.  If managers are clear about the greater effect of somebody’s work upon the company’s productivity, they can really appreciate why their work is important and why they need to stay focused.

Knowing the potential impact of having an understanding or the way one’s role fits into a company’s larger goals, how can managers provide this for their reports?  There are a myriad of ways, but the most effective ones can be very small.  Adding an extra sentence into an email about a project, taking an extra minute to mention the relevance of a task when training, or even forwarding an appropriate email about company-wide goals can help.

The key in providing this info is to make it empowering, not to leave employees cowering.  The message should be ‘you and what you do are important to our company,’ rather than ‘messing up this task will have serious ramifications for you and the rest of this company.’