Essential Skills for IT Leaders (Checklist)‏

A few years ago, I set out to create a list of the essential skills any IT Leader must have or develop to fully realize their potential. I want to share that list with you today.

Essential Skills for IT Leaders:

 #1 - Make your users feel that you are "on top of" the basicsSenior management won't be impressed with your ambitious new project or recent achievements -- no matter how great it they are -- if they can't access their e-mail.

#2 - Know how to have IT projects fail without killing your careerIT projects are complex endeavors, and it is a fact of life that some projects will NOT be successful. If the leaders in your company lash you down personally to the success or failure of every project, your career will stall.

#3 - Generate real trust through business intimacyTechnical knowledge and experience are essential for IT leaders, but are NOT enough to get a real seat at the table. You know you have mastered business intimacy when people in your company (and outside of the IT department) feel you fully understand them and their issues, and invite you to be a part of the decision making process instead of being someone who decisions are dictated to.

#4 - The right way to communicate well, inside and outside of the IT departmentAs an IT Leader, you are forever briefing someone on something: senior management on the budget, your peers on project performance, your team on organizational and developmental plans. Sometimes you are promoting a vision. Other times, you need to deliver less than wonderful news about a project gone south, a budget exceeded or a service level unmet.  No matter how you slice it, communications are a big part of IT leadership.

#5 - Know how to say NO nicelyIf you say "yes" to every project idea or request, your entire IT department would quickly become overwhelmed, unable to do good work, with company-wide disappointment soon to follow. Knowing how to say no nicely is the key to managing expectations and being seen as a competent leader throughout your company.

#6 - Employ "leader's skepticism"It might surprise you to know that leadership in your company doesn't want you IT Leaders to be over-the-top optimistic. Demonstrating a leader's skepticism -- balanced skepticism, NOT cynicism -- means that you will be trusted with bigger and bigger decisions.

#7 - Understand what it really takes to sell projects and ideasHaving a technically sound plan only gets you halfway, selling your projects and ideas within your company is an exercise in Influence, and having a structured way to get full support and buy-in before you ever present your idea to a group is a mandatory skill.

#8 - Demonstrate understanding of the business you are inAt some point, most IT Leaders hear patronizing lines like, "you gotta understand the business" or "you gotta speak the language of the business." Most confuse this with "aligning with the business," but it is actually three unique things: demonstration that you understand the business model, operating model, and the industry environment.

#9 - Master the 3 "signature plays"In the realm of IT leaders working to advanced their career and gain access to the executive suite, the signature plays are those plays that bring you the "seat at the table". Essentially your play is nothing more than a discussion with one or more people supported by some highly targeted presentation material. These plays are your very best moves where you shine brightest; where everyone (both on the field and off ) says: "that's cool."

#10- Develop and grow the people around you in order to grow yourselfYour career as an IT Leader won't grow much unless the people around you do too. A framework to select and develop those around you will grow both your influence and your career.

#11 - Generate rock-solid respect from your company's key playersWhile most in IT feel that respect is something "earned" through competence and skills, in reality that's only part of the equation. For example, how could a business leader who lacks technical know-how possibly judge the technical competence of your department or initiatives? To truly develop as an IT Leader, you must discover and utilize the strategies that produce company-wide respect for both you and your team.