This is an excerpt from a discussion on enforcing policy and the policy makers not wanting to be included in their own policy. It seemed appropriate to quote, because we sometimes lose sight of the enabled position we hold when we see the disconnect between policy and practice.

We do have the ability to adjust attitudes and to convince the user community - which includes upper management, that following a sensible policy or practice is actually better for all concerned.

This can be shown in ease of maintenance, simplicity, and resource savings. The converse is also true, that following a nonsensical policy causes problems and ultimately costs in time, staff and real dollars.

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Completely agreed! Too many people don’t realize the power they have, and instead assume the shackles that they have imposed on themselves. I’m a sysadmin.. I don’t need to be an enforcer if I can get people to follow the rules because it makes the best sense for them.

I saw this in a recent post on the SAGE announce list and thought I’d share it.

Ultimately, our jobs are less about enforcing or wielding explicit authority than developing the influence to encourage decisions that comply with our needs (which is a more powerful and subtle form of authority).

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