IT Management ideas in libraries

 I was recently at a meeting where we were talking about how to build a team and effectively manage that team. I was asked about some of the changes I had made and how they were working. At the end of the conversation I was asked if I would write these ideas down in the IT Blog. Foolishly I said said yes. These are just some general guidelines that I try and often fail to follow. They are in no particular order.

1. Never ask someone to do something that you are not prepared to do yourself.
2. Frustration = Problems. Frustration is the leading indicator that your staff is having problems. It is your responsibilty to solve these problems.
3. Never blame. It is a waste of time. The solution to the blaming attitude is to collectively focus on the problem and find a solution.
4. Have and attitude of “Yes”. This doesn’t mean you say yes to everything but is more of mindset.
5. Communicate, communicate and communicate somemore. It is really helpful for staff to understand the goals and expectation and to be part of the planning process.
6. Acknowledge the work people do and thank them for it.
7. Delegate as much as possible. It empowers people and prevents you from micromanagement.
8. Actively listen.
9. Patience. The people you have on your team are working hard, do not over stress them by setting unrealistic timetables. Understand your staffs strengths and weaknesses. Help them with both. It is your job to make their job easier.
10. Have fun. Staff that are having fun at work are more productive. It will also help them and you live happy lives. This is perhaps the most important rule. If you are not having fun there is a problem.

These are the top 10 things that I strive towards. I know there are many more things to do but I can really only keep 10 thoughts in my head at one time and I really believe in keeping things very simple where possible.