IT Management: Leadership Lessons for IT Pros in Today's 'Hyper-Connected' World

Are you a collaborative leader? A Harvard Business Review report by leadership experts Herminia Ibarra and Morten Hansen asks this question, in hopes of helping IT administrators, IT professionals, CIOs and the like to succeed in a world and a business environment that's become "hyper-connected." The two researchers offer advice, as well as examples from Microsoft, Salesforce.com and Nokia, on how to change one's leadership style to create a richer, more productive corporate culture that ultimately benefits the company's bottom line. "Crafting the right leadership style isn't easy," the pair admit. To help, they've identified four areas where strong skills are required: playing the role of connector, attracting diverse talent, modeling collaboration at the top, and showing a strong hand to keep teams from getting mired in debate. More good news: All these skills can be learned, they say, and "can help executives generate exceptional long-term performance." Here, taking the lessons from the Review, eWEEK looks at the 10 key takeaways from the report to help managers, IT professionals and their staffs make their way down a new road to opportunity, productivity and success.