The IT department is an organizational unit within the company. It is responsible for all aspects of information technology, i.e. electronic data processing. It deals with IT as a corporate resource and is accordingly involved in the strategic development of the company.
In addition, the IT department is responsible for the operational use of electronic data processing (EDP) throughout the organization. It ensures that information technology is used efficiently, effectively and securely in accordance with the company’s goals.
In larger companies, the IT department is headed by a Chief Information Officer (CIO), in smaller ones an IT manager. With the progress of digitization, IT departments are increasingly managed using it infrastructure management services at the top management level.
The 5 types of IT departments
In the service-oriented paradigm, the IT department must play a strategic role in order to strengthen the company’s core competencies and expand them into a real competitive advantage. How this role can be designed depends on various factors:
- the quality of IT services can be provided;
- how cost-effective the team is;
- how fit the IT department is in terms of innovation;
- how agile the team works;
- how high the responsiveness and flexibility is and
- according to which sourcing model the IT department works (rather internal service provision, rather outsourcing to external service providers).
Depending on the constellation of these factors, the IT department can take on one of the following five strategic roles:
- the value player
- the operator
- the technology leader
- the service broker
- the enabler
How to lead your IT team optimally
The following recommendations will help you successfully lead your IT department into the future.
Promote a common vision
Prevent departments from procuring and operating their IT autonomously past the IT department. Prevent shadow IT. Diplomacy is required for this:
- Bring departments and IT departments together and develop new solutions in joint workshops.
- Communicate the vision and strategy of IT throughout the company.
- Impart knowledge by explaining where the risks and opportunities lie, what really matters with IT systems and why the IT department needs it at all.
Maintain a leadership style that promotes innovation
Successful companies are characterized by the fact that they practice an innovation-friendly work culture. This means for you:
- Be curious and promote curiosity among your employees.
- Allow your team to fail sometimes. You learn from mistakes.
- Hold regular ideas meetings. Use a variety of methods to generate creative ideas.
- Have the courage to finish unsuccessful projects. Take this opportunity to learn the lessons from the experiment in retrospect and thereby initiate new innovation projects.
- The longer a question remains open, the longer it drives your team to think about solutions.
- Set up the offices in such a way that inspiration and exchange of ideas are promoted.
The right employees in the right place
Use the individual strengths of your employees to increase your business success:
- Find out who is particularly good at what. Do not take into account existing roles, but strive for a new, optimized distribution of tasks.
- Focus your employees on projects they are passionate about. Passion is a very strong drive and can let people surpass themselves.
- Always choose your best employees for the strategically important projects. In this way, you ensure that great opportunities are optimally preserved, which benefits the entire department.
The foundation is trust
In order to motivate your employees to perform at their best, they must enjoy your trust. Only then will they be ready to leave their comfort zone and dare something new, bigger. This is how you create a foundation of trust:
- Let your employees know that you trust them and are sure that they have the necessary skills: “You can do that.”
- Give each employee the assurance that their contribution counts. The more important the task you entrust to someone, the greater the proof of confidence: “What you do is important to all of us.”
- Never expose anyone. If you have to criticize, do so discreetly in private: “That stays between us.”
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