Author:
Bhakti Kashalkar
Associate Team Lead
Effective leadership is essential for success in the fast-paced world of IT. As team leads, we play a pivotal role in guiding our teams towards achieving their goals.
“There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.”
Here are some key leadership skills to focus on:
Communication: Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful leadership. It involves talking about what the team members want and then showing them the way to execute it. For instance, holding regular team meetings, one-on-one discussions, and utilizing collaboration tools can facilitate transparent communication.
Be ‘hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise,’ and people will cherish your words and treasure them and repeat them over a lifetime
Empathy: Unless you have empathy you as a leader would never understand and share the feelings of others, which is a crucial skill for building strong relationships within the team. For leaders who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for them
Decision Making: Effective leaders make deliberate and informed decisions by considering various perspectives and considering the pros and cons. Your decisions would solely affect the progress of the product as well the team you work with also affecting individual growth for the team members. For instance, utilizing decision-making frameworks like SWOT analysis or cost-benefit analysis can help.
Problem Solving: Teams often encounter complex challenges in ever growing and ever demanding IT environment. Encourage your team to approach problems with a back-tracking strategy. That is, identify the final goal, jot down the pre-requisites for it, do a good research, analyse the most feasible approach for your use case and start immediately. Also, conducting brainstorming sessions, breaking down problems into smaller tasks can aid in problem-solving.
Delegation: Delegation is about entrusting tasks to team members based on their strengths and expertise. By delegating effectively, you empower team members to take ownership of their work and develop their skills. For example, assigning project tasks, setting clear expectations, and providing necessary support and resources can facilitate effective delegation.
Adaptability: In the rapidly evolving IT landscape, adaptability in different tech stacks, in different approaches to look at a problem proves helpful. Encourage your team to embrace change, stay updated on industry trends, and be open to learning new skills.
As Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Conflict Resolution: Conflicts are inevitable in any team environment, but effective leaders know how to resolve them constructively. Encourage your team to address conflicts openly, listen to each other’s perspectives, and find mutually beneficial solutions.
Motivation: Celebrate successes, provide recognition, give shout outs on even smaller achievements and offer support during challenging times. Engaged employees are motivated employees. Motivated employees are creative, innovative, happy workers who stay at their jobs.
Accountability: Leaders and team members must take responsibility for their actions and outcomes. Encourage accountability by setting clear expectations, holding regular progress reviews, and providing constructive feedback. Also, when accountability lacks never criticise. For criticism is futile, it puts a person on the defence and usually makes him strive to justify himself.
Vision and Strategic Thinking: Leaders should have a clear vision for the team’s goals and objectives, along with the ability to think strategically to achieve them. Encourage your team to align their actions with the team’s vision and set priorities accordingly. For example, developing a strategic roadmap, conducting regular strategic planning sessions, and anticipating future trends can aid in strategic thinking.
