Questions on Making the IT Management Move
How do I become an IT manager?
The movement from technical individual contributor to IT Manager is based on the combination of your personal attributes and promotional opportunity. Your personal attributes include your
- Technical ability, because sometimes the best techie gets the promotion
- Interpersonal communication skills, because they are critical to be an effective leader
- Quality professional brand/reputation, consistent with the organization’s goals, values and objectives, because as a manager you are a representative of the senior management team
Promotional opportunity may arise through luck or strategic intent. Luck is when your boss leaves, your have the above personal attributes, and are seen by others as the “heir apparent” to replace your previous manager.
Strategic promotional opportunity comes about by being the best employee you can be, seeking out organizations that are in a growth mode, thus the internal need for additional managers, and by illustrating your willingness to take on responsibility through hard work, being a team player, and being a leader among your peers.
How long does it take to be an IT manager?
There is no specific timetable to become an IT manager, for some it’s two or three years, for some it’s a decade or more. It depends on the number of promotional opportunities within your organization, your communication skills, your ability to manage up, and a number of other related factors.
Generally speaking, if you enter IT as an individual contributor, it takes three or four years to gain the professional technical skills of your individual contributor role and the understanding of “the business of IT”. With this combination of technical and business proficiency, you will then be ready when the opportunity presents itself.
What education do you need to be an IT manager?
There is no official educational requirement to become an IT manager. Generally speaking, most IT managers have a college degree, because they went to college before entering the workforce. A college degree, however, does not guarantee your movement into IT management roles.
Other IT managers without formal college degrees have entered the IT manager ranks simply through great job performance as an individual contributor, and thus being given the opportunity to move up organizationally.
Others, with or without college degrees, gained valuable IT management responsibility in the armed forces and used that experience to pivot into a public sector role when they left the military.
Can I become an IT manager without a college degree?
Yes, IT managers without college degrees have entered the IT manager ranks simply through great job performance as an individual contributor.
Interestingly, if you are thinking about getting a degree at night while working full time, if the company likes you, very often just being enrolled in a part-time college degree program is enough to overcome their degree requirement if one exists.
What technical skills are needed to be an IT manager?
A strong understanding of the technical work performed by your department is certainly of great value. But as an IT Manager you are overseeing the work, not performing it. For example, the coach of a baseball team certainly understands the game’s rules, strategies, and idiosyncrasies, but is not an active player on the field of play.
What leadership skills are needed to be an IT manager?
Various types of leadership are required in an IT Manager, they are:
- Technical leadership: The ability to lead a group of technical professionals
- Influence-based leadership: The ability to influence project stakeholders, dotted-line reports, and your senior leadership
- Servant leadership: The willingness to do everything possible to make those on your team successful
- Thought leadership: The ability to gain an understanding of technical, business and industry trends, the skills to combine them in innovative ways, and the willingness to share your ideas with your staff, peers, and leadership
What do you need to study to be an IT manager?
Your area of study is dependent on the area within IT that you are managing. For example, if your department is responsible for cybersecurity, then you should be studying computer security in general and the specific security tools your company is using. If you are working in application development, you should have an understanding of the platform your programs are using (i.e. AWS, Asure, or Windows), and methodologies you are using (i.e. Agile, Kanban, etc.), and the business area you are supporting,
How do I move from Technical Lead to IT manager?
The move from a Technical Leader role to IT Manager is a combination of illustrating your leadership ability, your willingness to learn and participate in managerial tasks, such as status reporting, hiring, and delegation, and positioning yourself for promotion through a high level of job performance in your current role.