Warning Signs Your IT Manager is Drowning (And You're Ignoring Them)

Cyber Security for Small BusinessesPodcastRisk Management
Written By Noel Bradford

In our podcast episode this week, we covered the warning signs that your Dave is about to crack. The responses from listeners have been properly alarming: too many business owners recognizing their own situations in these patterns.

How do you know if your Dave is drowning?

If you're honest, you probably already know. But you've been ignoring the warning signs because as long as the systems are running, you tell yourself everything's fine.

Until it isn't.

Here are the red flags that mean your single IT manager is about to crack, and your business is heading for disaster.

Warning Sign 1: Dave's Hours Are Mental

Is Dave first in, last out every single day? And I don't mean by 10 minutes. I mean by an hour or more.

That's a massive red flag. If Dave needs that much extra time to keep things running, it means Dave's either incredibly inefficient (which probably isn't true) or Dave's got way too much on their plate.

When did Dave last leave the office before 6pm on a weekday? When did Dave last take a weekend completely off, no calls, no emails, no "quick fixes"?

If you can't answer those questions, Dave's drowning.

Warning Sign 2: The Lunch Test

When did Dave last take a proper lunch break? A full hour, uninterrupted, at least three days a week.

I bet Dave's eating sandwiches at their desk while troubleshooting someone's email problems. If Dave can't even take lunch without being interrupted, that tells you everything about how thin you've stretched them.

Dave's either skipping meals entirely or wolfing down food between crisis calls. Neither is sustainable.

Warning Sign 3: The Help Paradox

Has Dave ever asked for help? Because if Dave never mentions needing additional support, that's actually more concerning than if they were constantly complaining.

Either Dave doesn't realise how overwhelmed they are (dangerous) or Dave knows but is too defensive about their technology to admit they need backup.

Dave becomes territorial about the systems because they're the only ones who understand them. Or they've lashed something together based on YouTube tutorials and are having major imposter syndrome.

Warning Sign 4: The Defensive Response

Is Dave defensive when you ask about the technology? Do they get cagey when you suggest changes or ask questions about how things work?

You'd think they'd want to share knowledge. But when Dave's overwhelmed and stressed, sharing knowledge feels like giving up control. And control is the only thing keeping the house of cards from falling down.

Dave's built everything so custom, so specific to their way of thinking, that explaining it to someone else would take hours they don't have.

Warning Sign 5: The Grump Factor

Is Dave the grumpiest person on your team? Not just having the odd bad day, but consistently grumpy, short with people, snappy when interrupted.

That's stress. When you're constantly firefighting, you're going to be short-tempered. Dave's not being difficult for the sake of it. Dave's trying to hold everything together while being pulled in 47 different directions.

Warning Sign 6: The Strategic Question

Ask Dave what they do all day when everything's running smoothly. If Dave can't explain what they're working on during the quiet periods, that suggests they're just constantly putting out fires rather than doing any strategic work.

Then ask the same question when everything's crashing down. If Dave's answer is the same ("fixing problems"), then Dave's not actually managing anything. They're just a costly emergency technician.

If Dave's activities don't change whether it's a crisis or a quiet day, Dave's always in crisis mode.

Warning Sign 7: The Knowledge Concentration

Dave's the only person who knows how everything fits together. Passwords, procedures, vendor contacts, system quirks. It's all in Dave's head with minimal documentation.

This isn't because Dave's being secretive. It's because Dave's been too busy keeping everything running to document properly. There's no time for knowledge transfer when you're the entire IT department.

Warning Sign 8: The Impossible Standards

Are you really paying Dave premium wages (see Tuesday’s post as you won’t be), and is Dave miserable all the time?

Something's wrong with that equation.

But here's the thing: you're probably not paying Dave premium wages anyway.

You're most likely underpaying one person to do eight or more different jobs and expecting them to be grateful for the opportunity.

The Diagnostic Question

Here's my favourite test: What happens when Dave's not available?

  • If the answer is "everything stops" or "we have to call Dave anyway," you've found your single point of failure.

  • If someone else can't handle basic IT requests while Dave's at lunch, in meetings, or on holiday, your business is entirely dependent on one person's availability.

  • That's not resilience. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

The Reality Check

The warning signs aren't subtle. You're seeing them right now. Dave is working ridiculous hours, stressed out of their mind, defensive about their systems, and territorial about their knowledge.

You're watching your single point of failure slowly breaking down, and you're hoping it'll sort itself out.

Spoiler Alert - It won't.

The Comparison Test

Would you accept your accountant working 60-hour weeks, never taking lunch, getting snappy with colleagues, and refusing to share financial procedures with anyone? Of course not. You'd be concerned about accuracy, compliance, and what happens if they leave.

So why is it acceptable when Dave does it?

The Business Risk Assessment

Every single warning sign represents a business risk:

  • Excessive Hours = Exhaustion errors and decision-making problems

  • No Lunch Breaks = Constant reactive mode, no strategic thinking time

  • Territorial Behaviour = Knowledge hoarding, single point of failure

  • Defensive Responses = Possible security gaps, undocumented workarounds

  • Persistent Stress = Health problems, absenteeism, eventual departure

You're not just ignoring Dave's well-being. You're ignoring threats to business continuity.

Action Items:

  1. Audit Dave's actual hours (when do they arrive, when do they leave, how many weekends)

  2. Check Dave's lunch habits (eating at desk while working isn't taking a break)

  3. Ask Dave directly when they last felt caught up with their workload

  4. Test the knowledge concentration (can anyone else handle basic IT tasks?)

  5. Plan for Dave being unavailable (holiday, sick leave, or departure)

The warning signs are there. The question is: what are you going to do about them before Dave reaches breaking point?

Noel Bradford

Noel Bradford – Head of Technology at Equate Group, Professional Bullshit Detector, and Full-Time IT Cynic

As Head of Technology at Equate Group, my job description is technically “keeping the lights on,” but in reality, it’s more like “stopping people from setting their own house on fire.” With over 40 years in tech, I’ve seen every IT horror story imaginable—most of them self-inflicted by people who think cybersecurity is just installing antivirus and praying to Saint Norton.

I specialise in cybersecurity for UK businesses, which usually means explaining the difference between ‘MFA’ and ‘WTF’ to directors who still write their passwords on Post-it notes. On Tuesdays, I also help further education colleges navigate Cyber Essentials certification, a process so unnecessarily painful it makes root canal surgery look fun.

My natural habitat? Server rooms held together with zip ties and misplaced optimism, where every cable run is a “temporary fix” from 2012. My mortal enemies? Unmanaged switches, backups that only exist in someone’s imagination, and users who think clicking “Enable Macros” is just fine because it makes the spreadsheet work.

I’m blunt, sarcastic, and genuinely allergic to bullshit. If you want gentle hand-holding and reassuring corporate waffle, you’re in the wrong place. If you want someone who’ll fix your IT, tell you exactly why it broke, and throw in some unsolicited life advice, I’m your man.

Technology isn’t hard. People make it hard. And they make me drink.

https://noelbradford.com
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