We all like game shows. right? Let’s play one now. I’ll dawn a long-neck microphone, put on my finest pinstripe suit and even color my hair a peppered gray. Get ready to battle it out with the rest of the contestants. In my best Alex Trebek voice.
“Here is the answer. A company with a SharePoint implementation employs this type of resource.”
If your answer is “A SharePoint Administrator,” you are incorrect!
If your answer is “What is. a SharePoint Administrator,” you are correct.
If you were playing as Sean Connery, we would have also accepted:
(In classic Connery voice) “Your Mother, Trebek! Ha Ha Ha HA HA HAAAA!”
Chances are, if you have a SharePoint implementation in place within your organization, you have someone on staff playing the role of the SharePoint administrator. Let’s get serious and talk about the role of your SharePoint Administrator for a little bit.
The Beginning Of The End
I am the Director of Implementation Services and the author and instructor of the SharePoint Planning & Administration Bootcamp for SharePoint Experts. I train 100’s of SharePoint administrators each year. This is a very diverse group of people, coming from a very diverse background. Most people that I’ve educated about this role, never even planned on being a SharePoint Administrator in the first place.
In every public class I teach, I have a discussion with my students about how they became a SharePoint Administrator. Without fail, the following interaction takes place:
(Me in my teaching voice): “So you show up to work one day, and you’re doing your job. Maybe you are a business analyst and you are working on a project plan. Maybe you are in support and you are working on an open case or two. Maybe you are a systems administrator and you are going through some logs to check for any issues that arose over the last shift. All of a sudden, you receive a tap on your shoulder. You turn around, and it is your boss.
“Hello There. How are you today?” your boss says calmly.
“I’m fine,” you respond.
“Listen, we’d like to move forward with a new technology called Microsoft SharePoint. We are looking for someone to champion this effort for us. Anyway, we were all sitting around in the conference room, thinking about who could help us, and your name came up. I know that what you are currently working on is very important, but we just want to get a SharePoint site up and running here within the next few days. Do you think you would be able to help us out? I promise that this won’t take more than 10% of your time, and I also promise that it won’t go into production.”
At this point, your boss is staring you down and focused intensely on your eyes. The thought that you are currently 110% allocated to your existing role is exploding inside of your head, yet your desire to portray a team player makes you crack a smile as you say, “Sure. That sounds fine. I’ll look into it.”
Depending upon your boss’ level of excitement, you might even hear this closing statement. “Thank you. We really appreciate it! Why don’t you head to the bookstore during your lunch break and buy a book on SharePoint. I’ll even make sure you can expense it!”
Now, before I go any further, I need to let you know that it is at this point in the class, that I pause to look at my students in the classroom. Without fail, the room is silent. The student’s faces are filled with dismay as it appears I’ve just shared the contents of their childhood diaries. I say in a stern and passionate voice, “If this has happened to you, please raise your hand!“ Time after time, an overwhelming majority of students raise their hands.
“Look around.” I say calmly.
As they look around the room, they begin to cringe and even chuckle. They suddenly experience what I like to call, Band-Geek Syndrome (BGS) or Theatre Geek Syndrome (TGS).
Just like band geeks or theatre geeks in school, we all saw ourselves as outcasts at one time or another until the day we picked up that instrument or took to the stage and found our calling. Some of us even went so far as to win a National Championship Percussion Title! …but I digress.
See, SharePoint Administrators are just like band geeks or theatre geeks. Historically, the SharePoint administrator role has been one of isolation. There has really never been a clear cut direction for the role of a SharePoint Administrator, and we often feel lost or confused about our education, expectations, and activities. The moment we find out that there are other people who have had similar experiences along their road to becoming a SharePoint Administrator (however crazy and outlandish their road may seem), we find great comfort in our historic similarities and our confidence-level skyrockets.
It is such an immense relief to know, “Hey. I’m not crazy. I’ve been banging my head against this stuff like everyone else!” Once you accept this realization, your road to understanding the role of the SharePoint administrator becomes much more manageable.
The question I have for you is, “Am I preaching to the Choir?”
Stay tuned as we continue to investigate the role of the SharePoint Administrator. I might just change your perspective as we uncover why and how this role needs to change.
Click here to continue on to Part 2 in this series of blog posts
Matt
mpassannante