Get out of your office and have your staff do the same. Now, don’t interpret that as not working or simply hanging out, but as a necessary process to grow, learn and become better at our jobs. Each of us must reach beyond the comfort of our core expertise in order to meet people and learn from them. Meet folks …
Remove obstacles and focus on solutions
Remove excuses and eliminate obstacles for others to be successful. This is a very simple view of what leaders must do and in particular what IT teams must do. Technology needs to empower people and provide solutions, not be in the way of people achieving their goals and being successful.
You must win hearts and minds of people
In order to accomplish greatness, you must win hearts and minds of people who are on your team. You must find unique ways to motivate each of them individually while simultaneously building a cohesive team capable of great accomplishments.
Leaders set the culture
Leaders set the organizational culture and that will never change. Accept it and choose your leaders wisely. On the other hand, if you happen to be a leader, it is equally as important to take your responsibilities seriously and act in such way that promotes quality, accountability, and communication across all areas you lead. Whether you like it or not, …
Stay true to yourself
Don’t change or compromise your beliefs for someone else’s gain. When I say this, I obviously reference your positive morals, your high standards and your quality performance. Should you have any negative or detrimental habits or beliefs, by all means, feel free to change those. 😉 Your ethical standards are your compass in life and as such they will keep …
Proactively reward your top performers, your top 10%
Top performers matter. Your top 10% of employees matter the most as they are the ones who truly move the needle and make a positive difference in your strategy and operations. This is why you must be strategic and thoughtful when it comes to managing their careers in a sense. Executive leadership must know who the best employees are at …
Speak openly, honestly and frequently
Speak openly, honestly and frequently. Think for yourself, leverage your experience, knowledge and education to arrive to your own conclusions. Don’t simply follow the majority and fall into complacency, lack of action and lack of commitment. You should be represented by your own actions, not by actions of others. Stand up and speak up on items you feel strongly about …
Why you should have a University Service Desk
All of your operations begin or culminate with customer service. The point of contact, and interaction between you and your clients or customers is where the magic happens and it is one of the most important aspects of every business. With this in mind, you should create a single point of contact for all IT services and in due time …
Tell me about your worst boss ever
Never speak ill of someone you work for. No matter what may have happened, publicly, you always need to have your boss’ back. Privately, you will hopefully have an opportunity to speak honestly and share your thoughts, ideas and comments. Conversely, don’t allow anyone to badmouth you or your team especially if they haven’t approached you first or have nothing …
Manage egos, collaborate, communicate and include others
Manage egos and put the needs of everyone ahead of any individual needs. Collaborate, communicate and leverage skills and experience from other teams, groups and departments for the betterment of the entire organization. If other teams as asking to get involved, don’t take that as encroachment, but rather look at it as an extended, helping hand intended to contribute in …