If faced with a reorganization, support it, even if it's at your short-term expense. Right now, protecting your turf is a bad career move. Dear Bob …About a year ago I was put in charge of a new Enterprise Architecture function in our IT group. I lead a small team (there are four of us) that serves a 250-person IT organization.Which will soon be a 200 person IT department, as we’re about to be hit with a round of layoffs. Worse, the CIO informed me that along with the layoffs, she’ll be reorganizing IT, eliminating my team and redeploying my staff and myself into other “more critical” responsibilities. I think this is a mistake — an example of short-term thinking. We’ve been making excellent progress. We’ve analyzed the enterprise functional architecture, published a comprehensive set of business use cases, and are well on our way to completing the initial set of enterprise service definitions.How do I persuade the CIO to keep my team intact so we can keep our momentum going?– Enterprising Dear Enterprising …You don’t.You might be analyzing the enterprise, but I’m afraid you’ve developed a myopia of your own. Your CIO’s goal right now isn’t to build the services architecture of the future. It’s to survive until the future gets here. All indications say 2009 is going to be grim. If we’re all very lucky, in 2010 we’ll see a very modest level of economic growth, or at least an end to contraction. My best advice is to change your personal definition of your responsibilities. Starting right now, you’re a leader of all of IT, not the head of the architecture group. Ask the CIO for a list of the staff who are going to be laid off. Figure out where each member of your team should be reassigned based on their skills, aptitudes, and systems knowledge.If any of your team members are weaker than employees who are on the layoff list, be prepared to suggest a substitution.Also, be ready to suggest three different new roles where you might be well-suited to contribute to IT’s success following the layoffs … and make sure they’re roll-up-your-sleeves-and-do-real-work roles and not roles that are long on image and short on tangible product. This isn’t the time for investment in long-term vision. It’s all hands on deck to take care of the most urgent needs, because many of them will also be triaged for awhile (assuming that using “triage” as a verb is allowable).I understand the change will be disappointing. It’s also an opportunity for you: It’s a chance for you to show you’re capable of seeing beyond your own lemonade stand to the entire situation, and are prepared to be part of the solution.– Bob Technology Industry