Integrating the Integrators
The Essential role of the integrator
In 1967, the Harvard Business Review published an article entitled ‘New management job: the integrator’. The authors suggested that within the next decade, “one of the critical organisation innovators would be the establishment of management positions, even formal departments, charged with the task of achieving integration.”
More than four decades on, it’s still rare that you’ll find a colleague with the job title of ‘integrator’ on their business card, let alone whole departments tasked with integration. Of course, every company and project has ‘integrators’- people with integration as part of their job description, but they are more likely to be engineers, data architects, project managers, systems engineers, change consultants, account managers to name just a few.
In reality, the title doesn’t actually matter, but the role is essential! The increasingly complex and dynamic nature of organisations and projects accompanied with the rapid rate of technological change means clearly defined, customer-centric, integrator roles are increasingly becoming a necessity in every business.
What is an integrator?
Put simply, integrators are the glue that brings things together! Where visionaries are those that create the future, integrators are the ones that make it happen.
An integrator is a person who has the ability and skills to bring together various non-connected elements of a business, service or project, to deliver a final, coherent and successful solution for the customer.
Taking on any problems or needs that arise, through coordinating, collaborating and communicating, they find the solutions, keep projects on track and facilitate positive change.
The challenges facing integrators
Like the job title, the keys to success of an integrator are not clearly defined. Positive results are as much about a way of thinking as they are about defined skills, but what is consistent is that an integrator must be adaptable and have a desire to bring together non-connected elements of a solution or service to deliver success for their customer and consequently for their own business as well.
Integrators have to be resilient and know when to push forward and also when to pause and question. Transforming anything has its challenges and so understanding the ‘big picture’ is paramount. We are by nature sceptical of change in all areas of our lives, with business organisational culture and resistant employee attitudes often compounding the turmoil associated with any change. Integrators must be sensitive to this whilst retaining focus on the customers’ requirements and the internal teams’ needs to deliver it.
Integrators need to be excellent communicators, and most are, but that is just one part of the story. They also need to build a rapport with every stakeholder in a project. Only by developing this skill can they build trust and loyalty to harness the commitment that will ensure they receive the right communications, data and assistance required to achieve their objectives.
In today’s modern workplace there are many barriers to building these crucial communication channels:
Lack of access is a common challenge; getting face-to-face time with all stakeholders who will be affected by, and involved in, a project is difficult when many employees now work remotely.
Integrators are often joining as a team member on a project and do not have direct authority over the individuals and team concerned.
Asking employees to give time to assist in integration projects is not made a priority by managers.
Integrators are deemed to be an internal resource with some reluctance to put them in front of customers.
The integration function is not included at the right time. Integration is perceived to be what happens at the end when crucially it needs to be involved at the start through the whole chain thus removing much of the friction later on.
Scepticism and resistance to change amongst teams and individuals regularly needs to be overcome.
The under-valuing and misuse of the integrator’s role can result in a lack of trust, understanding and tensions. So what is the solution?
Managers need to realise the importance of integrators in any situation, champion their role and help pave the way to their success.
Keeping the customer at the heart of everything.
All team members must be encouraged to accept change and be brought into the objective so they can provide information, feedback and data - all essential to facilitate positive outcomes.
The integrators themselves need to be able to influence without authority, lead change, prioritise improving communication channels to foster collaboration, build long term trust and clear out obstacles to achieve solutions.
The workplace is evolving at a much greater pace than ever before and organisations are becoming increasingly complex. At the heart of this rapid change is technology. All sectors are facing some sort of digital transformation and only by preparing for, accepting and facilitating change will businesses be able to keep up.
In today’s rapidly changing work environment, the role of the integrator in any organisation is now crucial, not only to facilitate positive change, but also to help staff engage with and adjust to new ways of working, rather than seeing them as a threat.
