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SWAT Teams: Leading From the Front (Part 2)
In the first part of this series on IT SWAT teams, we introduced the concept of technology SWAT teams, discussed some common characteristics and touched upon salient advantages of using SWAT teams. In this second part of the series, we will be discussing some common challenges that IT SWAT teams face and will explore recommendations borne out of battle scars and glory, which you can take away and implement on your next SWAT assignment.
Some Key Challenges
Some challenges that arise when you are using/overusing SWAT teams are:
“Stay Out” Syndrome: Some employees may feel threatened by the work that the SWAT team is tackling--and may create barriers to information or success through non-cooperation or non-participation. This is a real problem that often occurs due to the invasive nature of work that SWAT teams often have to retort to.
Personnel Impact: By their very nature, working on SWAT teams can be express-paced and time-pressed, leading to stress. This--in addition to the spotlight pressures--can cause employee burnout. Often employees also pay a personal price (did we say missed weekends?).
Tendency to become the norm: There may sometimes be a tendency to respond to all situations with an emergency mindset--i.e. using SWAT teams. Unless the nature of the business and its supporting technologies call for it, I would strongly …
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