BRMs have the difficult job both of meeting user needs and of managing expectations regarding service and project delivery. A number of people in IT have difficulty with the BRM role and are unable to develop the required relationship with their business partners. Our research indicates that these problems have less to do with content or technical issues, and a great deal to do with how the BRMs ‘show up’ in discussion. For a variety of reasons having to do with conflicting styles and perspectives, BRMs are often unable to have the conversations that they need to have if IT is to add maximum value to the firm. In short, they simply lack the personal ‘power’ required to make an impact.

Kirt Mead , who has played a lead role in developing our understanding of the issues surrounding the BRM role, discusses our findings and outlines the very successful education approach that we have developed for augmenting personal power and impact in BRM staff.