How To Be An Effective Technology Leader in Today’s Workforce
As technology’s ecosystem continues to evolve, IT leaders are settling into C-suite positions, leading them to find new ways to engage talent.
Today’s technology workforce holds a diverse array of talent, eager to develop a new app, discover new versions of code, and evolve customer experiences. A new generation of IT leaders is settling into c-suite positions leading them to set their eyes on fresh and noteworthy professionals eager to advance their careers. And with remote work here to stay, companies are hiring talent worldwide, providing opportunities like never before.
As technology’s ecosystem continues to evolve, the need to adjust to the rapid trends of work is becoming abundant. Flexibility, progressiveness, and curiosity are some of the fundamental traits that an ideal IT professional holds.
As the modern workplace continues to develop, here are several ways how you can become an effective leader in today’s workforce.
Empower your team and trust their instincts.
With rapidly changing work environments, the critical denominator to pushing teams to success is to empower – collectively advancing individuals through mass motivation, inspiration, and supplementing them with the proper tools and providing direction.
Through empowerment, employees are enabled to become the best versions of themselves, applying their hard-earned skills to find innovative solutions that move the technology needle and create better organizational trends.
Elevate your vision.
The word vision stands for the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. By elevating it, you’re raising it to a more important or impressive level, giving you and your enterprise an edge amongst competitors.
Elevating your vision can come from several things, including but not limited to research, monitoring social and workplace trends, and diving into customer behavior. By utilizing these three components, you’re supplying yourself with the knowledge to develop insights that not only steer your direction forward but upward.
Improve your communication skills.
Have you ever sent out an email to your team, and a team member does the exact opposite of the plan you envisioned in your head? Improving your communication skills is more than just relaying your vision through your company’s preferred communication method; it’s about whether your message is genuinely getting across.
Hold group meetings to entertain questions and encourage open communication. Your team should feel comfortable enough to explore different options in anticipation of the plan.
For interactive meetings, use tools such as a reliable video conferencing platform for dynamic discussions and integrate it with your phone system of choice.
Welcome big, bold, and crazy ideas.
If you plan to bring on talented individuals, expect them to start conceptualizing ideas that promote expansion and growth. Big, bold, and crazy ideas derived from passion challenge the status quo and push teams to reverse engineer the existing norm.
Some of the best ideas come from fresh talent. When conducting an interview, do not be afraid to ask a potential candidate what they liked or did not like about the company’s technological portrayal and products. By doing this, you’ll set the tone by showing all thought angles are welcomed while directing motivation and creativity upward.
A good leader pushes you to voice your opinions. A great one will hand you a microphone.
Adapt with technology changes and think five steps ahead.
You heard it right. Think five steps ahead. Technology is constantly changing, and so are the trends of the modern workforce. What does your organization’s future look like? Is your management team holding each other accountable to plan and forecast the next five to ten years?
Use the insights that you gather from your leadership team to craft a plan of action. It’s also vital to observe competitors and their tactics to learn what’s up and coming on the tech horizon.
By being prepared and setting a clear path, your team will be equipped to not just work around adversity but beat it.
Deliver results, track progress, and be proactive.
Have you accomplished your goal? Great. Now it is time to track what went well, what didn’t, and the gray areas in between. Tracking progress helps you build a strong team and educates you on the areas that need attention.
Being proactive means that you are taking the essential steps to plan for the future. Issues that may arise along the way will become obsolete and the need to develop reactive schemes will no longer be necessary.
Support your team’s trial-and-error methods.
According to the theory of use and disuse, the ‘law of use’ states that learning occurs when an organism in a particular condition repeats any action. In contrast, the ‘law of disuse’ states that no learning will happen if an organism does not repeat an action.
The essence of trial and error is the ability to find our desired result through different techniques and establish proven methods that will not work – providing individuals following in the same footsteps with expansive knowledge and less wasted time.
Think long-term.
Quick fixes result in unsustainable resolutions, which lead to chaos. Short-term thinking limits growth, allowing potential problems to arise as you uncover your roadmap.
Strategic thinking paired with an elevated vision enables your team to lay foundations and accelerate procedures, moving you and your team to the finish line faster.
Lead by example.
Treat your team fairly, boost their morale, and establish mutual respect while ensuring that others do the same.
According to Mindtools, when you lead by example, you create a picture of what’s possible. People can look at you and say, “Well, if he can do it, I can do it.” When you lead by example, you make it easy for others to follow you. Additionally, when leaders don’t practice what they preach, it can become almost impossible for a team to work together successfully.
Motivate your team to experiment with new technologies and continue to test out new concepts. Innovative technology paired with a forward-thinking and supportive leader proves that the sky is the limit.
How can SmartChoice help?
SmartChoice can help you simplify and modernize your communications architecture without you having to invest in costly upgrades. We provide tailor-made solutions that integrate both the old and the new and let you take your communications to the next level without adding risk to your organization. By working with us, you can count on receiving white-glove customer service and 24x7x365 US-based support to prepare your enterprise for the future of communications.
SmartChoice is a technology company based out of New York City with a unique portfolio of solutions including UCAAS, collaboration, software and analytics, dedicated contact centers, security, infrastructure, and managed connectivity. Through its unsurpassed white-glove service and 24x7x365 U.S. based support, it has grown to become one of the largest award-winning PBX/SIP providers in North America.
