How CIOs can better manage a New IT team

After taking the leadership position at a new company, most CIOs are eager to meet their new staff. In contrast, IT teams already working for the organizations have many assumptions about their new “boss” that may or may not always be in the new CIOs favor.

CIOs have witnessed an extreme change and evolution in the advancements in the past couple of years. With the acceleration of digital transformation to keep the business afloat while dealing with labor shortage challenges due to “The Great Resignation,” it has become an arduous task for CIOs to engage favorably with their teams.

It is already a difficult task for most CIOs to get their IT team to seamlessly work together when their team members are already familiar with them. Addressing the new IT team of existing employees to listen and motivating them to be a highly engaged business team can only seem much more grueling. However, from a long-term perspective, blending in and successfully leading a team can help CIOs achieve their management and personal goals. They can set an example of leadership for their IT team during their departure and create a thriving and experimental culture where their IT team thrives.

Also Read: Four Best Practices Enterprises Can Adopt for Successful Data Migrations

Here are a few steps that CIOs can take to seamlessly transition to their new role:

Take time to understand the team culture

CIOs should slowly and deliberately understand their culture when starting to work with their new staff. They should stop being quick to judge since culture is a sensitive thing and most people would not appreciate that their culture is wrong. If they do find some faults within the established culture, they should wait and talk to their team members about how they think this will be helpful.

Instead of hurrying to make culture changes, CIOs should take the time out to make everyone on the team a part of a new initiative.

Recognize the accomplishments

It is no secret that most employees witness a boost in their motivation and morale when their seniors recognize and congratulate them for their achievements. Thus, CIOs should understand that today’s IT teams have massively contributed to keeping the business running and potentially opening new windows of opportunity. Therefore, when they take charge of a new IT team, CIOs should celebrate the achievements before they joined. Not only will it give them an idea about the strengths and milestones of the team but will also help the CIOs to learn how those successes impacted their employees and the organization as a whole.

Focus on seniors executives within the department

Winning the heart of a team begins from the top and percolates to the bottom level. In many circumstances, the CIOs will inherit an IT department that already has strong relationships as well as support from the IT enterprise. Therefore, CIOs should get this group’s buy-in to the new vision that will help them to set the right tone across the IT team. They should empower senior leaders within the team so that they will help them successfully execute their initiatives. This will also allow CIOs to also gain confidence in the upper management of their organization.

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