IT Managers Must Develop Trust
Your IT staff may not like you personally and they may not like working for you, however to be an effective IT manager, your team must trust you. If they do not, they will spend most of their time trying to protect themselves from you instead of using their creative energy to focus on the IT mission that, in today’s technology-dependent organizations, can be detrimental to company overall strategic goals, and possibly damage the competitive advantage of your company.
Further, if an IT staff doesn’t trust you, then you, as manager, won’t be comfortable placing your trust in them either. This is a dangerous situation for you as an IT manager, and you can plan for many sleepless nights. Trust me on this! One could argue it’s a “chicken and egg” scenario but in reality, the cycle does begin with you, the IT leader.
Trust is an interesting thing between a subordinate and a manager, particularly in an IT organization. This is because, in an era of swiftly moving technological changes, IT managers can easily find themselves in a situation where a team member may know more of the details about a specific technology than they do.
A successful IT manager must take the lead and should consider doing the following.
- Demand honesty from all your staff, technical and administrative
- Make your anger known if a team member lies to you or (very important) only tells you half truths
- Be very clear that there is an absolute requirement that important information (good and bad) is communicated promptly
- Show your disapproval if someone only tells you the good news and not the bad news
- Be honest with your staff members since if they feel they are being lied to, they will return it in kind.
- When team members tell you bad news and/or unpleasant information, you must work with them constructively to solve the problem, rather than punish them for delivering the news or for their involvement or possible errors.
- Give appropriate praise and positive reinforcement when they act in an honest, brave and appropriate manner.
- Are they acting in an untruthful way because they don’t trust you?
- If they delay in bringing you bad news, examine the possible reasons.
- If they don’t trust you, do some soul-searching and try to figure out why. Remember, you are the IT leader; as a result, a trusted relationship begins with you.
- Next, take steps to try to correct the issue, thus forming a more trusted relationship
- Lastly, if the person is just truly untrustworthy by nature, consider removing them from your IT team when the opportunity arises.
Then, in return for staff promptness and honestly, you should:
You will find that a constructive and problem-solving attitude toward issues will help you gain trust. Staff will know exactly what to expect and can predict your reactions and depend upon your assistance. By creating this type of IT culture, you will find your staff more willing to accept your advice, direction . . . and constructive criticism. You will have a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses in the skills inventory of your team, allowing you to plan for appropriate and necessary training.
The approach also provides important clues for you related to IT succession planning as well.
This is a formula for a growing, improving, satisfying . . . and stable IT department as it minimizes IT attrition and is a big part of retention management. This positions your team to be an integral part of a winning overall company strategy. It’s also the personal reputation you want to develop as it clearly demonstrates your IT management skills and is, therefore, very good for your own career
So consider this: if someone in your group is untrustworthy toward you, ask yourself the following:
As mutual trust improves and grows, and the team is energized, committed and willing to take on business-appropriate risks, managers must remember to provide solid feedback and praise to staff regarding your pride in a strategically powerful, productive, creative, and technically superior IT team!
For additional information on today’s topic, check out the following books:
Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace: Seven Steps to Renew Confidence, Commitment, and Energy by Dennis S. Reina & Michelle L. Reina, or The SPEED of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey.
Eric Bloom
President and founder of Manager Mechanics, LLC
Eric is also a nationally syndicated columnist, entrepreneur, speaker, award winning author and trainer in IT management skills. By pioneering IT leadership education in traditional classroom settings, as well as online platforms and advanced virtual worlds, Eric’s team provides strategic education to firms who value superior IT leadership, a strong teamwork ethic, IT innovation for competitive advantage, and planned succession to consciously control recruiting and retention.
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