Leading an IT Team

When you lead a team, your role is to serve your team. This was a mindset change from years ago when the boss or manager dictated to the team.

You hire people for their expertise. Leverage their knowledge and expertise and remove roadblocks that are holding them back. As a leader, it is your responsibility to:

• set the vision and let the team figure out how to accomplish that vision. Repeat the vision at every opportunity. Keep it simple. Communicate it clearly
• create an environment where the team feels you have their back. A team afraid of making mistakes is a team that is playing it safe and unlikely able to excel. If a mistake is made, the team must feel confident in bringing it to light so it can be corrected and prevented from recurring
• ensure the team understands that integrity and honesty trump everything. All members must understand that how they act and what they do must be done with integrity. Trust and respect will vaporize instantly with dishonesty

When communicating to your team, use a tool like Grammarly (even the free version) to improve your writing in emails and browser-based tools. Spelling mistakes, poor grammar, and typos impact people’s impression of you whether you communicate to your manager or your team.