Why Do Tech People Like To Pretend They Know Everything?
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?” This familiar refrain can be frustrating when interacting with the tech department. Yes, we’ve tried that, and no, it didn’t work… Except it does when the tech guy is on the phone for some reason. After hanging up the phone, the problem reappears in no time at all. Now you’ve got to make another call and convince him that yes, there is a problem and no, it’s not as simple as rebooting. In the end, the problem is eventually solved by the IT department, but not without a little bit of frustration for having been dismissed the first time around.
If this situation sounds familiar, that’s because it’s fairly common. Why do tech guys pretend like they know everything right off the bat? What are the personality traits that are common for these positions? How can we interface with IT departments in a more effective way to make everyone’s experience better? Let’s dig in.
What Are the Personality Traits of Successful IT People?
A study out of the University of Tennessee, published by Canadian Center of Science and Education in the Computer and Information Science Vol. 7, No. 3 examined traits that distinguish 12,695 IT professionals from 73,140 individuals in other occupations. They found that IT professionals had high levels of agreeableness and tough-mindedness, as well as lower conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, assertiveness, customer service orientation, optimism, and work drive.
Let’s take a moment to look at the definition of each of these traits.
Higher levels of:
Agreeableness - Essentially the capacity for cooperation, working in a team setting, and being willing to contribute to group efforts
Tough-mindedness - Using logic, facts, and data to draw conclusions rather than feelings, values, or intuition. Tending to be more analytical, realistic, objective, and unsentimental.
Lower levels of:
Conscientiousness - Sticking to rules and policies, being dependable, reliable, and responsible.
Emotional stability - Being able to handle stress, challenges, and pressures with composure and resilience.
Extraversion - Having an outgoing personality, being talkative and warmhearted.
Assertiveness - Speaking out about important matters, expressing views with confidence.
Customer service orientation - Putting the customer first and trying to make them satisfied, even if it means going above and beyond normal job duties.
Optimism - Having a hopeful and upbeat attitude even when faced with setbacks.
Work drive - Willing to work overtime and invest a lot of time and energy into the job.
Unpacking IT Personality Traits
Looking at the list above, there are some easy (and incorrect!) conclusions that could be drawn. You can look at that list and say, “Oh, no wonder tech guys pretend like they know everything—they’re lazy, unkind, logic robots who can’t relate to real people!” While that’s an easy place to jump to, that’s not actually true. We’re sure you can think of a few tech guys who aren’t logic robots!
All joking aside, digging into this study further, we find that the largest difference between IT employees and other occupations is the tough-mindedness trait. This makes sense. After all, many IT team roles and responsibilities require using logic and rational analysis in order to solve problems. For example, troubleshooting complex software or hardware issues, monitoring system security and preventing breaches, setting up users with complex permissions and abilities… The list of duties that tech people perform on a daily basis require them to remain detached, analytical, and tough-minded. If they’re acting like they know everything, it’s probably partially due to the fact that they do, indeed, have very high levels of expertise and problem solving skills.
While the lower level of emotional stability may jump out as a potential issue, remember that IT professionals also have higher levels of agreeableness. They are typically able to work within the structure of the IT team and the wider company quite effectively. A potential explanation for the emotional stability piece is that IT jobs tend to be quite stressful. After all, what does an IT person do on a daily basis? They deal with frustrated people who have complex, difficult problems. They also tend to have a lot of responsibilities and end up with a lot of work on their plate, often trying to cope with impossible workloads. In fact, acting like they know everything could also simply boil down to a strategy to get through tickets as efficiently as possible.
The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Tech Professional
The reality is that we would be lost without our IT departments. They are an essential part of businesses functioning properly, and understanding some general trends can help operations flow efficiently. So what are some ways to help your IT department interface with the company better and vice versa?
First of all, company culture plays an important part. Creating an environment where respect and collaboration is the foundation of all interactions can help prevent tension between IT staff and other employees. On one hand, non-IT employees need to understand that IT staff are knowledgeable and often simple troubleshooting does solve the problem. On the other hand, IT employees need to understand that a little bit of empathy goes a long way and work on their soft skills. Providing resources like company training on how to deal with stressful situations, soft skill development, and providing opportunities to learn from IT staff can help everyone.
Don’t Go IT Alone - Moser Consulting Is Here To Help
Getting your IT department functioning efficiently and interfacing with your company seamlessly can be a difficult and overwhelming task. Luckily, you know just who to turn to for help! Here at Moser Consulting, we’re more than an average IT consulting company. We can help you review your policies and procedures and give you the extra support you need. Looking to hire new IT staff? Our goal is not to just fill seats at our client sites, but to find the right talent with the right tech at the right time. We are dedicated not only to the success of our client but to the success of each IT professional we work with. We have a tremendous reputation among IT communities in both Indianapolis and Baltimore, due to our past performance and the relationships we build together.
If you’re interested in learning more about our services, reach out to us today.
