Technical Leaders Must Explore Their Unknown To Be Great Leaders
Technical Leaders Must Explore Their Unknown To Be Great Leaders
Technical leaders must explore their unknown to be great leaders – redefining what they know & understand about leadership to rise to new challenges.
Leadership is a challenging task for any group of people.
Many will have strong reference points from early in their careers as to what a leader has meant to them. Many technical leaders have played a critical role in their chosen technical discipline & often been part of their organisation for a long period of time but being promoted & leading people is a whole NEW challenge.
Generational change in needs, leading people vs technical activities, managing the needs of humans alongside the needs of an organising requires technical leaders to explore the unknown & expand their skillset.
1. Be proactive rather than reactive.
Anticipate the needs of your teams & take steps to address them before potential issues arise.
This proactive approach will help prevent bigger issues & demonstrates to team members that you actively engaged & care about their success.
2. Build collective clear goals & objectives.
Work with the team to build collective goals & objectives aligned to a vision – activities the whole team can own.
Avoid top down direction as a traditional solution & engage to build a collection program of action that everyone can own & lead the charge with.
3. Keep everything real.
Make sure everything is achievable with milestones that drive a real sense of success within the team.
Keep blue sky innovation as a strategy for future success vs a right here right now goal.
Setting too lofty of goals can lead to frustration, particularly if team members don’t understand the technology involved or everything that is needed.
4. Treat communication as your new weapon.
Effective communication is key for any team to succeed – so is the quantity.
Establish a regular & diverse set of communication touch points that keep the team informed & involved in everything happening & coming soon.
Align all communication to the goals & objectives & create a sense of achievement amongst the team.
5. Listen & seek feedback.
Your new greatest strategy is to listen to each team member, put yourself in their shoes & increase your understanding of their point of view & situation.
Create a two way street of feedback communication where all points of view are shared & accepted.
Provide feedback and constructive criticism in order to create a productive environment, but also be open to everything that is being said.
Acting on what you hear will increase the level of leadership engagement.
6. Foster collaboration & teamwork.
Technical leaders should create an environment of collaboration & cooperation between team members.
Use regular meetings & check-ins, as well as providing resources & support to help team members work together effectively.
Often as leader openly promoting teamwork & collaboration – we are all in this together & demonstrating that in your leadership style you want to engage & be part of a successful team, can make a huge difference.
7. Provide the Innovation Platform.
Encourage innovation as a mechanism to drive improvement on every area of focus – not as a goal that doesn’t get acted on.
Create the space, time & vehicle to free up team members for out of the box thinking. Make it part of regular thinking, releasing the shackles to explore new horizons.
Never say No – keep exploring & testing ideas as a strategy to moving beyond instant deliverables that are required. This could include brainstorming sessions, hackathons, or other activities that promote creative problem-solving.
8. Recognise achievements.
Take the time to recognise & reward team members for their hard work & accomplishments.
It is critically important for technical leaders to not accept good work as just good work, but to acknowledge it.
Celebrations, recognition, & rewards can motivate team members & help foster a high performance environment.
9. Never accept status quo.
Foster an environment of continuous learning & improvement.
Encourage team members to attend workshops or take classes to enhance the team’s skillsets & boost the team’s overall performance.
Always explore the unknown as a strategy to step out of following a regular & regimented program.
Challenge everything you do on a regular basis.
Leadership demands a unique set of skills that can be hard to master.
With the right attitude and approach, technical leaders can rally their teams to achieve amazing things.
Technical leaders can create an environment in which their teams can thrive but they must continue to explore their unknown to be an even better if not great leader.
Our Shaping Culture Journey provides leaders with the positive platform to explore the unknown with their teams. A tailored journey that can support teams of all sizes, dispersed or localised to harness their uniqueness & create a unified team approach exploring the unknown.
Reach out for more information here.
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