If you’re thinking about getting into IT leadership or are already there, you might want to check out this list. These are the 19 mistakes that tech leaders make most often:
- Assuming the team serves you
- Isolating yourself from the team
- Employing hokey motivation techniques
- Not providing technical direction and context
- Fulfilling your own needs via the team
- Focusing on your individual contribution
- Trying to be technically omniscient
- Failing to delegate effectively
- Being ignorant of your own shortcomings
- Failing to represent the best interests of your team
- Failing to anticipate
- Repeat mistakes others have already made
- Using the project to pursue your own technical interests
- Not maintaining technical involvement
- Playing the game rather than focusing on the target
- Avoiding conflict
- Putting the project before the people
- Expecting everyone to think and act like you
- Failing to demonstrate compassion
Now this is a pretty exhaustive list, but can you think of any more? Or if you’re already a leader, are you or were you guilty of any of these? If so, how’d you turn things around?