A customer once asked me why I could not just read their mind and make what they need just happen. First, I really doubt that we want people reading our minds— but I do understand the frustration. The customer is having a hard time reconciling the limitations of information technology with their individual needs. It happens. We can do wonders manipulating digital space when it comes to web design and software, but when this digital space meets physical server and other hardware limitations, we sometimes find ourselves at a temporary impasse.

If you find yourself having a hard time communicating with your IT professionals— or just communicating with them in general— you are not alone. Technology is a hobgoblin! There are so many things going on that it is hard to see how it is all connected. I recommend that you take time to prepare for your meeting before you meet. Make sure that you understand exactly what it is that you need so that you can fully articulate your thoughts and are not left wishing random people could just read your mind. If you do have a meeting scheduled, email the description of your situation or what it is that you are trying to achieve to your IT team at least 24 hours before you meet. This will provide your IT team with the time and information they need to do some initial research of their own and perhaps they will even come to the meeting with a few realistic options ready to go.

Above all, please be open to the reality that even digital space has its limitations. Unfortunately, our individual preferences on how a resolution will manifest are sometimes not the best, or even an option, for best end-user security or the security and/or technological infrastructure of the organization. Your IT professionals will always help you navigate to a solution, but depending on system limitations, it may not look exactly how you envisioned.

Your IT team is here for you and truly wants to build and maintain systems that work exactly as each unique user desires. The road to that promised land, however, is on-going and convoluted. But to help us help you today, prepare yourself for your IT meetings ahead of time (email pertinent information at least 24 hours in advance if you want them to have a head start) and understand that your expectations will have to meet your organization’s system limitations and its various other parameters. IT professionals may indeed seem to be magical genies with many wondrous tech skills, but, thankfully, reading minds is not among them.