The WHATs and HOWs Of A Great IT Service Management Leader?

There are two types of leaders: 1. The Designated Leader - who has been appointed or promoted into the position. 2. The Self-Empowered Leader - who is not in a position of authority the same as A "Designated Leader", but who demonstrates many of the qualities of a good leader. I've talked about Self-Empowered Leaders in an earlier post. And if you've been following what I've said and written over the past couple of years you'll know that the concept of "Self-Empowerment" is close to my heart. Today, however, I want to focus on Designated Leaders. Designated Leaders in IT Service Management will usually have a title such as CIO or Director. They may even be the head of a more discrete team or project. No matter what their title, this is WHAT we need from our Designated Leaders:
  • Understanding of the greater goals of the organization, division or department. These "greater goals" are those which this Leader's team have to support.
  • Definition of relevant goals for their team. Whether it's the whole of IT or a discrete team within IT - the Leader's team needs to have their own objectives.
  • A focus on the future - what it looks like and how we get there.
  • Definition of the strategies and approaches to be adopted to achieve goals.
  • Ability to clearly explain goals & strategies. Not just what they are, but why they're important.
  • Continual re-explanation and reinforcement of goals & strategies on a frequent basis.
  • Provision of capabilities (resources) to the team. This includes funding, tools, knowledge & skills and time.
And these are the traits we need to observe in HOW our Designated Leaders go about their business:
  • Honesty - telling the truth and not sugar-coating bad news.
  • Integrity - walking the talk.
  • Reliability - being available when needed, and providing consistent direction.
  • Being true to their values and always doing the right thing.
  • Showing a positive, confident and optimistic attitude.
  • Determined and persistent - sticking to the task when the going gets tough.
  • Inspiring and empowering others to act.
If the Leader can deliver on all of the above then they'll generate trust, confidence and the respect of all they interact with - not only subordinates but also peers and higher-ups. At Pink we're considering how we can recognize the great leaders in our industry (watch out for more on this very soon). One thing's for sure - anyone gaining recognition as a great ITSM leader has to have a profile that covers most of the WHATs and HOWs I've just outlined.

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Just wanted to say ‘thank you’.  I was looking on your site, because I want to send you a resume.  I have a very strong urge to work for Pink Elephant, and I have yet to know why.  I thought I was going to come on here to learn more about you, and I ended up reading the article The WHATs and HOWs Of A Great IT Service Management Leader? and ended up find out a little more about myself.  I would still love to sent a resume, is there someone I can contact?

Linda Grant | April 8, 2013 at 1:48pm

Thanks for you nice comments, Linda.

There is a page on our web site under “About Pink” titled “Careers @ Pink”, here it is: http://www.pinkelephant.com/AboutPink/WorkingForPink/

Good luck!

David Ratcliffe, President | April 9, 2013 at 9:13pm

This article is so informative. Thanks for sharing it and uno online which is awesome

jerroldvey | March 18, 2024 at 9:17pm

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