Tips for New IT Managers

The new manager’s role is very challenging job in the early phases. You have to manage the growth from being a technical person to an expert manager. But as you get experienced and follow the rules, you will start loving it.










Communication: Regularly meeting with your team members and your boss, discussing work related issues, challenges and ways in which they can learn and develop is part of day to day job for a manager. Arrange outings, this will strengthen the working relationship within your team. Things have changed now, other people are relying on you. A good way to build trust is to do what you say you are going to do, it would be better if you keep the secrets with you rather than revealing then to your team members. A manager would definitely have good presentation skills and he/she undertakes training program. Have informers who can gives regular updates regarding the team to you. Always take suggestions even to enhance your skills. No, no I don’t mean you to take suggestions with your peers to enhance your communication skills. Learn the internal politics in your organization.


Management: Be conservative to your boss and open to your peers. This is a strategy of a clever manager. Take recurring issues and problems to your boss, but don’t take day to day problems to him\her. Don’t pull your staff member to save money. It’s very easy job to fill your project with extra staff as long as their salaries are included in the cost of implementing the project. You can find this more easy if you prepare the matrix reports of the work load on each member of the team.


Support: As you are the leader, you are the responsible person at the time of disaster. Design and follow your disaster recovery plan from the starting phase of your project. Have your staff members to work from a disaster recovery site once in 6 months. If you have a helpdesk kind of environment where the user put their queries and you find that you are getting lots and lots of them, then try various other options like making few more members part of the team who takes calls, or outsource this function if it is possible. But if you are doing so, then keep well defined SLA’s (Service Level Agreements)


Environment: Try to be very patiet. If you cannot be patient, try to act as if you are have patience. Listen to your employees very patiently. Provide your staff with clear objectives and help then to reach their goals. Arrange outings and some other recreation activities. If you control budget, you can manage this cost. Don’t always expect high standards from your team members. Praise and encourage your employees in their areas and provide training to them to improve in their weak areas. Never pass the heat to your employees, this will break their courage and the mutual understanding between you and him\her, approach towards the mistakes very friendly.