How do you manage IT staff?

Get good people. Give them clear direction. Make sure they understand good software development principles. Remove as many obstacles as possible. Give them as many good resources as I can. Get out of their way. That is all.

IT is a broad topic. Just make an high level analysis we need to consider the Infrastructure, Development and Application. The first and most important thing to define an IT department, before starting hiring people, is to define what are the goals of the Organisation this team will work in. Another important factor is to hire the right person to lead the department. IT Manager is a person which not only speaks both technical and non-technical language to interface their department with the rest of the organisation. Beside this, is a person who understand IT in the broader definition of the term. IT manager needs to be able to discuss with all the offices in the IT department and understand the services they offer and their needs

1. Assign tasks according to HR's interests and abilities 2. Building Effective Two-Way Communication 3. Create a comfortable work atmosphere 4. Hold training/job training programs 5. Involve Employees to Share Ideas with the Company 6. Create a friendly event 7. Implement a Reward and Punishment System 8. Carry out an evaluation

My interviews to determine whether a candidate is a good team player revolves not around skill but character. In my experience, the real teacher is not certificates or achievements. Rather, skill is truly learned and cultivated in the “school of hard knocks”. 98% of the skills I have; technical or management-related, are from learning with first hand experience, as I am certain most will attest. Skills can be learned. Character cannot. No matter how much money or time one expends. Elements of character such as honesty, integrity, trustworthiness - these are paramount, especially in IT. Without these critical pieces of good character, skill is merely the icing on a cake that will ultimately lead to indigestion for the organization.

When it comes to hiring the right people, what I find valuable is not only skills - it is also demonstrated desire to learn.

El talón de Aquiles de muchas empresas: no forman a su personal y por ello pierden eficacia. Y a sus mejores trabajadores, que muchas veces son captados por compañeros de curso que valoran la actitud de avance de estos trabajadores.

A sustainable approach is required in training and development where progress is made continuously and everyday. I have borrowed the concept of "Guidance Coalition" from Scaled Agile Framework that I utilize for continuous excellence. community of practices and enabling teams are also excellent in promoting continuous learning and continuous feedback culture. Giving people stretch assignments and having to deal with whole life cycle vs project is also another approach to built cross functional skills.

People rarely learn from their successes. You have to let them fail, pick them up, learn from the experience and put them back on the path to success. Make being supportive more than cheap talk.

The best way to train your entire staff is through retrospectives. This gives the entire team the ability to learn and adjust based on reviewing a particular scenario or situation. I'm also a big fan of the show/do/teach method popularized in the armed forces. Getting folks to a point where they know something so we'll they can teach others.

I look for three qualities when I hire someone: personality, potential, and drive. Personality means how well they fit with the team and the company culture. Potential means how much they want to grow and learn, not just what they have done in the past. Drive means how motivated they are to achieve their goals and even exceed them. Once hired, I keep things simple for them. I create a clear path based on our discussions. Set clear achievable goals and give them space to experiment and learn from their mistakes, and I encourage other team members to support them along the way.

All members of a team need to be on the same page (irrespective of the size of the team), this enables the end goals, the vision and the mission to be sought after, pursued and achieved. In order for strategic goals to be operationalized through collaboration they need to be communicated effectively. The manner in which this is done can and will vary per person, team and organization, but the important thing is to ensure that we try until we find the method(s) which work and continuously reinforce them.

Effective communication is key in order to deliver exceptional service from any IT Staff member. Including internal and external communication, sometimes is required to get in touch with other IT areas to complete any requirement, and also with vendors to collaborate together including internal and external resources.

Challenge them. Give them a difficult task, way outside of their comfort zone and be amazed. My team have gone above and beyond completely changing the IT landscape because folks said they couldn’t do it.

Communication is critical to team dynamics and building a healthy team. I've found that sharing information is very important, however, more importantly is seeking feedback and fielding ideas and suggestions from my team provides tremendous improvements to team dynamics. IT people are known to generally have a different method of thinking. Therefore, it is not straightforward, and in some cases there is need for an individualistic approach. A lot of focus has to be placed on the team dynamics and vision of where you want to be as well, so that you shape the outcome. It is not a simple task, it requires commitment and work to achieve.

It is important to create an environment where the team members feel safety and trust each other. Sharing experiences and knowledges with transparency should be one the most important characteristics of the team. To achieve that, the manager should also be a role model for openness, trustworthy, courage, taking responsibility, calculating the risks and taking initiatives for team members’ advantages.

Delegation serves two purposes. 1. Distributes the workload and relieves a manager 2. Empowers a staff member to use their skills and feel good about completing vital tasks. I always find, when delegating, to set a target and then find a way to measure and track progress to show the person taking on these tasks, just how much they have accomplished by day/week or whatever is relevant depending upon the estimated time to complete the assignment.

Delegation serves as a tangible expression of trust in your team's capabilities. Embracing this philosophy prevents you from inadvertently taking back tasks you've delegated, reinforcing trust in your team's competence. It's crucial to acknowledge that occasional mistakes may occur when delegating tasks. However, these missteps can serve as invaluable opportunities for personal and collective growth. Effective delegation is a cornerstone of time management and leadership excellence, enabling you to liberate your time for strategic and high-priority initiatives. This practice is essential for professional growth and sustainable leadership.

A frequent mistake among new IT managers is treating themselves as a key individual contributor on the team. Because a manager needs to know all the teams’ projects, challenges, and personalities in addition to coaching and planning, technical tasks that sit with the manager can frequently get deprioritized. Even if a manager has the most experience in a particular technology, it’s critical to delegate important tasks to someone who can devote their time to the work appropriately, with the manager taking the responsibility for coaching the team and reviewing their output. This ensures the team is confident they are trusted in their areas of expertise, and they can continue to skill up as they take on progressively more challenging work.

Assess capabilities and coach for growth. Stop empty words of empowerment. Most of the time the problem is you and the org structure and culture. Designing strategies to minimize the above and maximize personal and team effectiveness via coaching.

Delegate and empower your team by entrusting them with responsibilities and authority, allowing them to take ownership of their tasks and decisions. By doing so, you not only alleviate your workload but also foster a culture of accountability and growth within your team, ultimately leading to increased productivity and innovation.

Cybersecurity is non-negotiable, but let's consider an unorthodox method: 'Internal Ethical Hacking'. Rather than solely relying on compliance checklists and theoretical training, we've incorporated sessions where our IT staff tries to ethically 'hack' into our own systems. This hands-on approach allows the team to think like attackers, uncovering potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. In the realm of clinical trials where data integrity is paramount, this technique has proved invaluable. It not only identifies weak points but also engages and educates staff in a practical, memorable manner.

Managing IT staff includes safeguarding IT assets against threats. Implement policies to protect systems, data, and services. Educate staff on cybersecurity best practices like password management and encryption. Regularly monitor and audit your IT environment and respond swiftly to incidents. This prevents losses and protects your business.

Ensuring your team is aware of the importance of security and follows the policies and procedures in place is vital to success in this age of technology. IT sets the standard for the rest of the organization in how to do things and serves as trainers to other areas for how to do things correctly and course correct users as things come up. Security is an organizational obligation, not just specific individuals. Ensuring the right procedures and processes are in place to remediate an incident is also important. Training on the process and table-top exercises allow for the team members to mentally walk through a what-if scenario and test procedures in place. Consistently asking why and challenging current setups will ensure better security

A no-trust network/infrastructure would allow this to be minimized at best. The problem with IT as it stands now is everyone thinks their way is the best way, and because of that logic too many cooks in the kitchen and nothing ultimately gets done.

Ensure those responsible for managing deployment, life cycle, and disposal of IT assets are trained on the company's policies and guidelines. Make sure all stakeholders are known and in agreement on what those policies are and who is responsible for managing the performance and incidents and corrective actions that could occur. Have strong written policies and procedures for managing your IT assets and make sure those policies are accessible to all applicable employees.

Cultural and behavioural inertia leads to technology and practises becoming ingrained and eventually unquestioned. "Because we've always done it like that" is one of the most dangerous attitudes in business. Question, question, question. Better solutions likely exist, especially if things have not changed for some time. Listen to ideas, seek input, and be openly challenging - but positive.

As we stated in other posts, change is the only constant, so we know for a fact specially in IT that disruption will occur, so embracing and driving change is part of the process. Upgrading, enhancing, implementing new technology in the landscape should be part of everyone's strategic roadmaps, while maintaining alignment to business objectives, this can be challenging but achievable.

On one hand, it's crucial to stay abreast of industry trends, providing the needed inspiration to refine existing processes and craft entirely new ones. In the other hand as team leaders, we not only set the horizon of expectations but actively encourage our team to face challenges, not just for project growth but for each member's personal development. Shortwords, innovation in operations is key to improving performance flows for both projects and team members, as well as facing the dynamism of the IT sector.

When looking at technologies and processes, we always highlight not only what is going to help today but how is this going to work in a future landscape. Addressing a resolution for now is great, but if in 3 years that is completely outdated and requires a complete overhaul is a tough exercise. Identifying scalable and agile solutions to what could change is vital. Now, sometimes you have to implement something to stop an immediate threat or issue. That sometimes omits your ability to take the time to think through the potential changes in the future and need to understand that everything won't be future proof. Engaging in a group discussion and brainstorm has often yielded great results.

In some scenarios the adaptation to current market is a risky preposition, but the risk is worth taking considering the rewards it carries in future. Innovation is prime goal for IT Operations. From paper based approvals to automated workflows we have come a long way. In order to run an innovative IT Operations, we need effective processes which was constantly evaluated and updated by efficient process owners based on relevant factors from both within / outside company.

Emotional salary, also known as "psychological salary" or "non-financial compensation," refers to the intangible benefits and rewards that employees receive in addition to their financial compensation. Here are some ways to provide emotional salary to IT staff: Recognition and Appreciation: Regularly recognize and appreciate the hard work and contributions of IT staff. Professional Development: Invest in the professional growth of IT employees by providing opportunities for training, attending conferences, and pursuing certifications. Work-Life Balance: Promote a healthy work-life balance by encouraging reasonable working hours, remote work options, and flexible scheduling. ...

1. As a team manager, I prioritize enabling my team to concentrate on their immediate tasks, while I handle any operational challenges, whether they originate internally or from clients. 2. The team's performance excels and they become more committed when they sense strong support in all situations. 3. I believe in providing feedback and recognition promptly, not delaying it until the next meeting. Whether in formal or informal settings, the goal is to foster improvement and action on feedback, not just to reserve it for discussion in meetings.

- is very important for an IT Manager or a Team lead to avoid micro-management because can negatively impact productivity in the workplace. - is important to put the IT team before your position, in this way, the team members can find in you a real leader and so they can trust in you. - share your experience and knowledge with the team members, you can be a model. When young people/juniors will become seniors they will take your example. Some practices can replace a salary difference if the members feel that they are appreciated.

In my experience you most Ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities within the team. 2. Foster Effective Communication: Encourage open and transparent communication within the team. 3. Provide Adequate Resources: 4. Delegate and Empower: 5. Encourage Collaboration: 6. Recognize and Reward: Acknowledge and appreciate the efforts and achievements of your IT staff. 7. Support Work-Life Balance: 8. Provide Regular Feedback: 9. Stay Engaged: 10. Lead by Example: Set a positive example by demonstrating professionalism, integrity, and a strong work ethic. Remember, effective management is an ongoing process, and it's important to adapt your approach based on the unique needs and dynamics of your team

Mutual trust should be established in all aspects of the relationship between the manager and the employee. This will help to avoid most of the issues related to biases.