Leading IT Teams: People-First IT Leadership (Off The Wire, Part 1)

How do you lead an IT team well? In Part 1 of this IT leadership series, Anthony Kent and Tanner Greer get out of the tech stack and into the people side of leading IT teams: managing people, giving feedback, taking blame, sharing credit, and earning your team's trust. Topics covered: why the golden rule fails at work and what to do instead, why a performance review should never contain a surprise, how to make IT's work visible to executives and the board, taking responsibility when things go wrong and passing credit when things go right, hiring people smarter than you and getting out of their way, and why recognition has to happen before you ask your team for extra effort. Off The Wire is a podcast for IT leaders, IT managers, and directors at electric cooperatives and small-to-midsize businesses. Real talk on IT leadership, cybersecurity, and strategy from two operators who do this work every day.

Chapters:

00:00 Cold open: a leader takes the blame

00:28 Intro and episode framing

01:54 Why IT leaders avoid people topics

02:49 IT is getting a seat at the table

05:40 Treating people how they want to be treated

07:57 Reading people and figuring out what they need

09:01 Asking directly how someone wants to be led

12:17 Performance reviews should never surprise anyone

20:11 Defining the direction for your team

20:31 Taking blame when things fail, giving credit for wins

22:55 Making IT work visible to the rest of the organization

26:02 Get out of your team's way: hire people smarter than you

27:38 Do what you ask your team to do

29:52 The cardboard box story: character is always visible

30:49 Recognition: find something genuine for everyone

34:00 Replenishing the cup: earning the right to make demands

Part 2 drops soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it. #ITLeadership #Leadership #TechLeadership