Leadership as The Basis for Building an Effective IT Team

Famous figures such as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill or Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recognise that to achieve long-term goals, good leaders must harness not only their capabilities but also the power of others in a team.

They must have a passion for their work that will inspire other employees, admit their mistakes and learn from them, and be ready to change course due to new priorities.

Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill says great leaders aren’t born with superhuman abilities. A lot of scientific work has been done to study the traits and qualities of such people. They learn, adapt, grow, and do their best to develop perseverance and resilience to motivate and guide others. 

Remember the difference between management and leadership. Anyone can be called a “manager”, but you need a real commitment to build genuine relationships with your team members and inspire them to work hard. 

Recognising that a company and its people need a leader, which are different skills, will enable you to build a sustainable and effective IT team that other professionals will want to join. 

IT Leadership and its impact on the overall team atmosphere

A leader can directly influence the team he or she leads. The leader’s values embody the corporate culture. When you foster a harmonious work environment and motivate employees to do their jobs well, you see higher employee engagement, greater productivity, and improved well-being. 

Employees’ daily interactions with their leaders profoundly impact their experience, which is the reason why you need to communicate cultural values so that even junior specialists feel a sense of purpose in working for an IT company. 

Poor leadership is considered one of the main drivers of employee turnover. According to James C. Harter, PhD, Gallup’s chief research officer for workplace management, managers can influence and change 75% of the reasons employees leave. Remember that how you manage your IT team can determine how long your employees want to stay in their positions.

How can a leader influence the effectiveness of an IT team?

Leadership plays a significant role in organising a team’s successful work. The leader’s actions and approach determine how effectively the team works. Next, we’ll look at the main aspects that help achieve better results and tell you what a true leader does.

1. Focuses on the goal

Reflect on leaders who have made a significant mark on history and made a dramatic impact on the rest of the world. One of the reasons Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were successful is their mastery of goal setting. They could implement their big and bold ideas into the daily operations of their companies. 

A true leader always helps each team member see how his or her activities contribute to achieving the overall goal. 

Some managers believe that getting to know their job responsibilities during onboarding is enough for a new employee to understand their role forever. However, they don’t consider team growth and other operational changes in the company that may affect the change in responsibilities.

If a team’s distribution of roles is unclear, it can lead to demotivation and conflict. As a result, instead of productive, focused work, employees spend time figuring out which tasks to focus on and which direction to take.

Setting clear expectations about who should do what in a team allows team members to focus on priorities and common goals that will benefit the company.

2. Creates an atmosphere of open communication

Create an environment where open, honest, and frank communication is encouraged. Use 1:1 meetings as an opportunity to listen to your colleagues’ thoughts and talk about challenges. Ask for (and listen to!) feedback on the quality of their work at the IT company.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions yourself. Most importantly, ensure all team members have a clear path to dialogue with you if they need to. During discussions, create opportunities for those who want to express their opinions. When a new initiative is introduced in the company, you, as the leader, are likely to present a clear plan for its implementation.

However, you need to encourage your colleagues to contribute to building an effective and collaborative team. Employees who contribute their skills, knowledge, and talents to the overall goal will feel involved in something bigger.

3. Builds trust

If you show trust and fairly distribute responsibilities, treat each employee equitably and impartially, remember to express gratitude, and foster a friendly atmosphere, you build a team that feels confident working with such a leader. 

When employees feel supported by their leader, they can make difficult decisions and take calculated risks more easily because they know they can always ask for help. 

Here are some tips on how your leadership can build trust in your team:

• Practice active listening: During meetings, pay close attention to each employee and show them their opinions and ideas are important.

• Clarify and guide: If you see that someone is confused when presenting an idea, support them and help them formulate their thoughts correctly.

• Provide active support: offer help when projects or tasks are not progressing. Don’t wait for someone to ask you for help.

4. Has relevant expertise and is constantly improving it

Leaders need to have sufficient technical knowledge in their field to earn the respect and trust of their colleagues. If you have full responsibility for a project and can influence the outcome, you cannot have a superficial understanding of it.

For example, to manage a team of software engineers, you need at least some knowledge of designing and implementing robust processes and an understanding of software testing.

You don’t need to be an expert (which is often impossible due to the diversity of engineering technologies and solutions). Still, you do need a deep understanding of the field to ask questions, determine the competence of your employees, and evaluate the results they deliver.

5. Knows how to set priorities

Effective IT team management is based on the optimal allocation of resources. Leaders are responsible not only for leading people but also for their efficient time management. 

You need to be able to set priorities and teach your team to do the same. This helps you quickly adapt to the changing circumstances and dynamics of the modern world. 

There are a variety of practical actions that can help your colleagues master the skill of prioritisation and help you build an effective IT team:

• being able to say “no” to commitments that don’t align with your current priorities;

• reviewing priorities regularly and changing them if necessary;

• delegating;

• setting SMART goals;

• using the Eisenhower matrix.

How does effective IT leadership impact the productivity of the entire team?

A leadership strategy is crucial for both overall team productivity and project success. A successful IT leadership strategy includes keeping technical knowledge up-to-date, motivating and supporting the team, managing time and priorities, open and transparent communication, and creating a positive work environment. 

In their book, The Team Approach: Building a High-Performance Organisation, authors Douglas Smith and John Katzenbach provide practical advice for those who want to build an effective team.

Here are some of them:

• build teams based on skills and potential, not personalities;

• help team members bond and focus their attention on a few immediate tasks;

• set behavioural norms;

• encourage open discussions and shared problem-solving;

• make sure the team has time to communicate beyond work-related issues.

If you share our approach to leadership, we invite you to contact Computools at info@computools.com, and our experts will be at your service.