Introduction

AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA, July 15th, 2024 /https://medium.com/@elijah_williams_agc — In a rapidly evolving tech industry, an IT leader plays a very important role in guiding their IT team towards success. Despite being experts these leaders might fall into traps that would affect productivity and hinder innovation.

Understanding these pitfalls would lead IT leaders to employ strategies like building remote teams or hiring IT staff augmentation services to enhance their efficiency and achieve growth.

Before understanding the solution let’s understand a few questions that are most asked about IT leaders and the concerns they face while managing the team.

4 Most Asked Questions about IT leadership

What’s the worst thing an IT leader does that actually damages team productivity?

One of the worst activities that an IT leader would do is micromanage their team. This means that the IT leader would take control of too much of the work and won’t let the team members make their own decisions.

What makes this action so counter-productive?

Doing micromanagement can be harmful because it stops team members from developing their own problem solving techniques and independence. When team members aren’t allowed to make decisions, they would become less interested in whatever tasks they are performing.

What would be a better approach?

A better approach would be for IT leaders to give clearer instructions at the start, provide the resources needed, and trust their team to handle the tasks. They should check in with the team to offer help and advice, not to control how they do every part of their job.

How can an IT leader learn how to build a productive team?

IT leaders can become better at building productive teams by constantly learning new management skills and listening to feedback from their teams. They can attend training programs, workshops, and get advice from mentors.

Learning from both their successes and mistakes and staying updated on new management strategies is also important. They should know their team well, recognize each person’s strengths and weaknesses, and create a supportive work environment.

Now, further let’s understand what are the common pitfalls that an IT leader faces while managing their team.

6 Common Mistakes of IT leaders which can hinder Success

Lack of Concise and Clear Communication

Effective communication is necessary for any IT team if they want to become successful. In the tech world, when projects and technologies are evolving at a faster pace, a lack of clear, concise and frequent communication would lead to confusion over project goals, priorities and deadlines, thus resulting in a decreased productivity.

What is the solution then? Let’s find out!

Solution: IT leaders should use effective project management tools to keep everyone on the same page. For remote teams, using tools that help in interacting or conveying messages can be helpful. Moreover, using tools that give real-time updates can help in minimizing communication gaps.

Micromanagement

Doing micromanagement can hugely demotivate a team which will hinder skill development and will also increase the employee turnover rate. So, what’s the solution? Let’s find out!

Solution: Leaders should build trust in their team’s ability by offering them freedom to tackle the tasks and achieve results in their own way, this will enhance creativity and morale.

Ignoring Employee Feedback

Ignoring the feedback from your employee would let you miss crucial insights that can help in improving processes and products, thus making employees feel valued. So, again what is the solution?

Let’s figure it out!

Solution: Building an open feedback culture with regular sessions and anonymous surveys to collect information can help in building strategies to come back stronger.

Failing to Adapt to Change

In a sector which is rapidly evolving, a little resistance to change can trouble the growth of the team. How to cure this then? Let’s understand the solution.

Solution: Encourage continuous learning and provide resources for team training to keep skills sharp and relevant.

No Proper Recognition and Rewards

Avoiding acknowledging team efforts can lower down morale and reduce productivity. So, what is the best way to tackle this?

Solution: Apply a powerful recognition system and celebrate all the achievements to create positive behaviors and outcomes.

Overlooking the Importance of Team Composition

An imbalanced team can lead to conflict and inefficiency. So, how to minimize the concern? Let’s check out the solution.

Solution: Utilize HR analytics and personality assessments to assemble a well-rounded team where each member’s strengths are maximized.

Based on the above pitfalls it becomes clear that managing IT teams can become a failed approach if these concerns are not addressed properly.

Want to stay away from these barriers then hire remote developers to build an efficient remote team who helps you manage the software development project in a seamless manner.

Before understanding how Remote Team can be a beneficial idea, let us understand what does the term Remote team means?

What is a Remote Team?

A remote team is a group of people who work together from different locations, rather than being in the same office or physical space. They communicate and collaborate using technology like video calls, email, and online messaging tools.

This setup allows them to work from anywhere, such as their homes, co-working spaces, or even different countries.

Now, let’s understand what are the advantages of a Remote Team?

Benefits of Building a Remote Team

Global Talent Access: Remote teams allow project managers to recruit from a global pool of talent, enhancing the team’s diversity and bringing in new perspectives that can lead to innovative solutions.

Increased Productivity: Studies suggest that remote workers are often more productive than their in-office counterparts , largely due to reduced commuting times and fewer office distractions.

Extended Work Hours: Having team members across different time zones can extend the hours during which someone is always working, potentially speeding up project timelines.

Innovation Through Diversity: Remote teams bring diverse experiences and viewpoints. This diversity can drive innovation, as different perspectives often lead to unique solutions.

Focus on Core Business Functions: With routine tasks handled by augmented staff, the core team can focus on strategic goals, driving business growth more effectively.

Risk Reduction: Augmentation reduces operational risks by ensuring compliance with global standards and providing flexible staffing solutions that can adapt to changing business environments.

But, how to build and manage Remote Teams, if this is the question that is bothering you then we’ve got an answer for you. By using IT staff Augmentation services you can hire remote developers to build remote teams that will meet your software development requirements.

Let’s begin by understanding what IT Staff Augmentation is.

What is IT Staff Augmentation?

IT staff augmentation is a way for companies to add skilled technical professionals to their existing team for a short-term or specific project. Instead of hiring new full-time employees, companies temporarily ‘hire’ specialists from an external service provider. This helps companies quickly increase their team’s capabilities without the long-term commitment of hiring new staff.

Now, further let’s understand how to strategically implement IT staff Augmentation services.

Strategic Implementation of IT Staff Augmentation services

Scalability:

IT staff augmentation lets companies adjust their team size based on current project needs without the long-term commitment associated with permanent hires.

Expertise on Demand:

Augmentation enables access to specialized skills for specific projects, ensuring high-quality outputs without the need for extensive retraining.

Cost Management:

By adjusting team size as needed and hiring from regions with lower labor costs, companies can manage budgets more effectively.

Wrapping Up!

By recognizing and correcting common leadership mistakes, IT leaders can significantly improve team productivity. Building remote teams or utilizing IT staff augmentation offers strategic benefits, not only helping to mitigate leadership errors but also positioning organizations for successful adaptation in a dynamic technological landscape.