IT Operations is a crucial function that ensures the availability, performance, and security of IT systems and services. As an IT Operations leader, you need to demonstrate your skills in managing, optimizing, and improving IT operations processes, teams, and technologies. Here are some of the best ways to show your IT Operations leadership skills.
Communication is key for any leader, but especially for IT Operations leaders who have to coordinate with various stakeholders, such as business users, IT staff, vendors, and customers. You need to communicate clearly, concisely, and consistently, using the appropriate channels, tools, and formats. You also need to listen actively, provide feedback, and resolve conflicts. Communication skills can help you build trust, rapport, and collaboration among your IT Operations team and other parties.
IT leaders have indeed to handle several and different kinds of stakeholders, many times while ensuring continuity issues, project advances and transformation. Communication may, hence, be complex and necessary in different levels. Some stakeholders will need some higher level of detail while others (most of them) will need a status and a date, security for their own processes and decisions. Proactive and consistent, customized communication grounded on active listening is crucial to build trust and to resolve conflicts, which will occur.
Learning various communication styles is key, especially when you've moved up the ladder from an engineering background. When dealing with stakeholders and customers, simpler, clearer explanations work wonders. But when you're talking to IT staff or vendors, diving into technical details shows you get their world
IT Operations leaders should not only focus on the technical aspects of IT operations, but also on how they support the strategic goals and objectives of the business. You need to understand the business needs, expectations, and challenges, and align your IT operations plans, priorities, and metrics with them. You also need to communicate the value and impact of IT operations to the business, and seek feedback and input from the business stakeholders. Aligning with business goals can help you demonstrate your IT Operations leadership skills as a strategic partner and a problem-solver.
IT Operations are increasingly crucial for business operation, which needs to transform more and more and align to customer focus through data analysis. This is pivotal in digital transformation and for strategic goals in a changing, volatile world, and it entails many technicalities. However, IT shall remember its position as precisely key to customers and users, so to focus on and align to them and their current needs, seeking synergy through communication and value.
If you're not clued into business needs, you might find yourself running IT Operations in a bubble, just for the sake of it. It's like having IT for IT's sake. Every system and process should actually solve a real business problem. If not, ask yourself why it's there in the first place. IT Operations should be all about making business life easier, not adding more hurdles
IT Operations leaders should follow and implement the best practices and standards for IT operations, such as ITIL, DevOps, and SRE. These best practices can help you improve the quality, efficiency, and reliability of IT operations, as well as reduce risks and costs. You need to adopt and adapt the best practices that suit your IT operations context, and ensure that your IT operations team follows them as well. You also need to monitor and measure the outcomes and benefits of implementing best practices, and continuously improve them based on feedback and data.
Practices are in constant change, also because of new needs, many of the technological nature for risk mitigation on customer information and normativity. Systems and infrastructure change also, as do market demands, bringing new options and constraints. Best practices should help improve quality and reduce risks and costs, and they are to do this holistically, for the value chain as a whole. Hence, they shoild be implemented together with stakeholders and beyond silos, and especially not for change in itself. There are procedural and operative consequences to mitigate in their negative impacts, and this through communication and a subjacent idea of continuous improvement on all sides.
Getting the hang of ITIL, DevOps, SRE, and other methodologies is key. But think of them more like guiding lights than strict dogmas. It's all about adapting these practices to suit your company's vibe and processes—make them work for you, not the other way around
Technology is the backbone of IT operations, and IT Operations leaders should leverage the latest and most suitable technology solutions for IT operations, such as cloud computing, automation, AI, and analytics. These technology solutions can help you enhance the performance, scalability, and security of IT operations, as well as provide insights and intelligence for IT operations decision-making. You need to evaluate and select the technology solutions that fit your IT operations needs, and ensure that your IT operations team is trained and skilled in using them. You also need to keep yourself updated on the emerging and evolving technology trends and innovations for IT operations.
IT and IT solutions keep evolving, and change is increasingly fast, with continuous innovation. Hence, not all solutions can or should be taken. The implementation list will depend on best practices, specific risks, user and strategic needs and trends. Else, there is risk of high costs for underused solutions which are later replaced without prior gain. Value-addition analyses are important, especially to be able to ensure resources for critical needs in a volatile, chanching environment, where scalability, automation and performance are indeed crucial within digital transformation.
IT Operations leaders should not only develop their own skills and knowledge, but also their IT operations team's skills and knowledge. You need to identify the current and future skill gaps and needs of your IT operations team, and provide them with the appropriate training, coaching, and mentoring. You also need to empower and motivate your IT operations team, by delegating tasks, setting goals, giving feedback, and recognizing achievements. Developing your team can help you demonstrate your IT Operations leadership skills as a coach and a mentor.
IT Operations can get pretty routine at times. To keep your team sharp, make sure they're always connected with the latest tech: - Get vendors to test out the newest hardware and software. - Give team members small projects to explore cutting-edge tech and see if it fits into your infrastructural landscape. - Encourage team members to attend conferences and even reward those who get to speak. - Foster a culture of sharing knowledge within your team—it's all about learning and growing together
Learning agility is especially important for all leaders and evolving team members, and I do not speak only about specific process- and sector-related skills. Completely unrelated subjects may lead to vital game-changing connections and innovation. Yet, identifying skill gaps is of special relevance, seeking holistic improvement. High-performing teams will need of proper training and access to information, as well as action margin within delegation and empowerment, so to stay motivated, growing and focused on self-responsibility, as well as on synergy for collective work and goal-attention.
IT Operations leaders should not work in isolation, but learn from others who have experience and expertise in IT operations, such as peers, mentors, experts, and communities. You need to seek and accept feedback, advice, and guidance from others, and apply them to your own IT operations challenges and opportunities. You also need to share and exchange your own IT operations insights and lessons with others, and contribute to the IT operations knowledge base and best practices. Learning from others can help you demonstrate your IT Operations leadership skills as a learner and a contributor.
There are specific processes best to be fulfilled concentrated and focused, but even those are best to pass through discussions and conversations which help identifying bias and gaps. Innovation may arise from differences, and collaboration entails a sentiment of communal responsibility which may lead to synergy as well as transparency and communication improvements. A critical knowledge may be that there is always something additional to learn...
Instill a culture that helps you strike the balance between business and operational needs depending on your product. Certain businesses like e-commerce, social media, etc may place a higher value on rapid innovation and time to market while others like biomedical instrumentation will place a premium on feature safety. The right culture for your business environment, will yield and shape the processes that help your team's continued success.