Great leaders excel in creating goals that are specific and compelling, to reach these goals they foster collaboration and innovation within their team. However, being a great leader isn’t one size fits all – each industry and department comes with their own challenges and intricacies, and technology-dependent departments are no different.
To be successful in technology, it is important that leaders:
Delegate, delegate, delegate. Given the breadth of knowledge required to be successful in IT means that one person can’t do it all. Leaders need to trust their people and surround themselves with teammates who compliment their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. If you struggle to delegate your team will also struggle with scaling and growing.
Foster collaboration. Collaboration comes from the top down. Empower your team to question the status quo and come up with solutions in a safe environment. Spend time attacking big problems as a team, involve as many of your staff as possible in important decisions and try to nurture a positive, can-do attitude.
Create balance. The pace of innovation in technology means that there will always be new tools available to you. Despite this, it’s still important to stay focused on the business aspect of technology delivery. By developing a team that has an equal balance of those who want to learn about the next cutting edge technology and those who are more business focused you can cultivate innovation without sacrificing efficiency and money.
Have a sense of humor. Technology is often viewed as a field that is pretty cut and dry. And it is important to be focused and deal with the technical tasks at hand, but without a strong morale your team will struggle and productivity will lag. A joke, corny or not, from a leader can ease tensions and foster camaraderie.
In technology, change is always on the horizon. By developing a strong team, leaders can be proactive instead of reactive, positioning their organization to be in the right place when disrupting changes happen.
