Today’s enterprises strive to gather competitive advantage through innovation and differentiated products. The extent to which they succeed depends on the skills and capability of the leader.

The Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) lead has the task cut out for him. Heading the core function of the enterprise, he has no option but to lead from the front. A competent leader marshals the available resources at his disposal, he also motivates his team to perform at their optimal best. Such leaders are a valuable asset for any enterprise.

Here are 10 key competencies essential for Infrastructure and Operations leads.

1. The Servant Leadership Style

Traditional command-and-control leadership style is passé. The digital age, dominated by skilled, empowered employees, calls for servant leadership.

Traditional leaders find virtue in micromanaging, in a centralized set-up. The servant-leader rather trusts the employee to do the required. They negotiate with the employee to clarify expectations and set goals. The employee works without much interference. The leader becomes a facilitator, removing barriers that impede performance.

The servant leadership approach suits skilled employees who value autonomy. Gartner estimates that 80% of I&O enterprises who do not promote servant leadership will fail to meet their digital transformation goals.

2. Shared Vision

A servant leadership style does not mean passive acceptance of skilled workers’ dominance. A successful manager rather leads from the front. He sets an example by doing the right thing. Next, he fosters a shared vision so that the employee and the enterprise share a common vision. This motivates the employees to contribute to further organizational goals.

Successful I&O leaders cultivate a shared vision among their teams. The best vision inculcates a culture of learning, transparency and competency.

3. Systems Thinking

Peter Senge, in his landmark book “The Fifth Discipline,” harps on the virtues of systems thinking.

Systems thinking means considering the “big picture.” The decision-maker focuses on the entire system rather than the immediate, individual issue. In today’s interconnected world, every action has some correlation with other events. For instance, changes in work schedules may upset time-to-market and committed deadlines. Good leaders commit to action after considering such interrelationships. They also study how any change will influence other areas.

4. Flexibility

Change is the only constant in today’s world. This is more so in operations and tech, where changes take place at a rapid pace. Old paradigms fall by the wayside overnight. Changing customer preferences and business realities render products and business practices obsolete. Often, success depends on doing something before the competition. 

A successful leader is flexible and versatile in his approach. He learns and unlearns rapidly. He understands the fickle nature of customer sentiments and is ready to change. He creates new mental models to cope with the change, and ensure the team also develop such mental models. He has no qualms in abandoning a model, which has become irrelevant and adopting a new one instead. Yet he underpins the underlying enterprise values every time he does something new.

5. Conceptual Acumen

Competent leaders promote a learning organization. They take a proactive effort to remain updated in their area of expertise. They also encourage the team to remain updated. They take efforts to make the team competent in critical emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

Successful I&O leads encourage cooperation over competition. They encourage the workforce to consider their colleagues as partners rather than rivals. They forgive honest mistakes.

6. Decision-making Skills

Infrastructure leaders often remain in a catch-up mode. The changing tech landscape places demands on resources for new products and software. But the leaders face the pressure of quantifying IT contributions, to justify the ROI. The ongoing skills shortage, with good talent hard to come by, adds to the pressure. The weight and velocity of such challenges force I&O leaders into a constant fire-fighting mode.

Resolving challenges requires leaders capable of taking strong decisions, and taking it fast.

7. Effective Collaboration Skills

The basic requirement for a good I&O lead is good communication skills. They also need good persuasive skills to get things done.

However, a good leader requires much more than stellar interpersonal communication skills. Success in today’s business environment depends on taking fast and firm decisions. A good leader curates a strong collaboration system. They encourage their subordinates to collaborate effectively. They promote openness and transparency. The team share information, discuss ideas and take decisions after considering all facets. They set an example by adopting these practices upfront.

8. People Management Skills

Infrastructure and operations, being core areas of the enterprise have the most workforce. The I&O leader requires strong people management teams. They need to engage with large teams and apply excellent soft-management skills. They also need good conflict management skills, to resolve flare-ups among team members in a stressed atmosphere.

9. Personal Mastery

Good leaders inculcate personal mastery. They are experts in their niche. They have the requisite certifications and good working knowledge. They have the ability to solve complex problems fast. Above all, they have clear-cut goals, combined with an accurate perception of reality. They are realists who have their ear on the ground.

Good I&O leaders inspire and lead from the front. They train their subconscious mind to tackle stress and problems. They never wilt under pressure. They consider challenges as an opportunity to prove themselves. They apply themselves to the task on hand. They work on a problem and resolve it.

10. Charisma

Never underestimate the influence of charisma. Good leaders foster a culture that values improvement and experimentation. They focus on developing new and existing talent rather than enforce the rule book. They focus on the end results rather than strive for perfection. They succeed in influencing and supporting many stakeholders.

No leader debuts with all qualities developed. Leaders are human, with fallacies and shortcomings. Successful leaders understand this fact and work on their shortcomings. Smart I&O leaders identify their key strengths and focus their efforts to such area. They identify their weaknesses or shortcomings and hone their skills in such areas.