10 reasons IT managers fail to exceed your expectations

Many IT managers earned their management posts by proving themselves in prior roles, often technical ones, says Bev Kaye, founder and CEO of employee development, engagement, and retention consultancy BevKaye&Co. As such, they generally have little to no training on how to manage workers — a topic that has been a longstanding issue in the IT profession.

To be fair, it’s not a problem unique to IT. Global recruitment and talent advisory firm Robert Walters found in a survey of European professionals that 35% of managers have received no managerial training.

Consequently, these managers aren’t fully equipped to do their jobs, let alone do them exceptionally well, says Kaye, author of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go and multiple other books on employee management topics.

Formal training can help turn this around, Kaye says. Attention from the managers’ own managers can help, too, by coaching their direct reports on how to engage teams, communicate with staffers, and be more inspiring leaders. This mentoring from senior-level pros provides instructive guidance and models the behaviors that can help managers excel.

2. They’re not the right fit for the job

The tendency in IT to promote staffers who excel as technologists into manager roles isn’t the only reason a manager may fall short of expectations. Such professionals may well be superstar managers — but maybe not in the manager role they landed, says Steve Agnoli, an instructor and coach with the CIO Executive Program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College.

Making the right match is itself an acquired skill, says Agnoli, who retired in September 2024 from his CIO post at law firm Reed Smith.

He advises senior IT leaders to first understand what skills each management position needs and use that to determine which candidates are well-positioned to succeed in that role given the demands of the job. If a job requires a steady, methodical approach, it’s unlikely that a fast-paced let’s-break-the-mold type manager would be a standout in that position.

But Agnoli cautions against expecting even a well-matched candidate to meet or supersede expectations from the start. CIOs and other senior leaders should instead help their managers grow into their roles by identifying where they need additional experiences, training and mentoring so that they can help that “person meet and hopefully exceed expectations and then move onto the next job,” he says.

3. They don’t know the expectations

Another reason why IT managers may not live up to high expectations is that no one said what those expectations are.

That’s a common issue, says Eric Bloom, executive director of the IT Management and Leadership Institute.

“As a leader, I should be able to explain what extraordinary work looks like and what separates a good manager from an extraordinary one,” Bloom says, adding that such conversations must get into the details. “Don’t just tell managers they should be extraordinary. That’s a generic term. You have to get specific. Know what exceeding expectations means.”

Bloom says managers who exceed expectations typically hit all their job requirements and do so in ways that deliver extra value. A manager whose team delivers work on time and on budget meets expectations, for example, while a manager who does so in a way that team members and business partners feel good about the work and, thus, enhance IT’s reputation in the organization exceeds expectations.

4. They don’t prioritize demands

Research firm Gartner has found that managers juggle 51% more responsibilities than they can handle.

Agnoli sees that in IT, too, as many managers struggle to respond to all the demands placed on them. As a result, these managers may have disappointing performances despite all their hard work.

That doesn’t have to be the case, Agnoli says. CIOs should help managers prioritize their work by giving them a clear picture of the organization’s business goals and the IT work that supports those goals.

“The CIO is the one who is defining direction and the strategy that the directors and IT managers and IT staff are carrying out, so if there is ambiguity or lack of direction there, that’s going to affect those workers down the chain,” he says. “The CIO is responsible for making sure the managers are clear on what is needed.”

Additionally, Agnoli says CIOs and their direct reports need to stay on track and not pile side projects onto managers’ key duties. “Know what demands your managers have and outline the priorities, and if priorities change, then adjust [the managers’ work] accordingly,” he adds.

Managers, too, need to stay on track. They need to push back when requests for extra work come in and learn to say, “Here’s what we agreed to do and when. Has this changed?” or “You gave me these five things. Where do you want me to put this No. 6?”

5. They’re too accommodating

To make sure IT isn’t a roadblock and viewed as the “department of no,” many IT leaders have tipped too far the other way with affirmative responses to all requests, saysLarry Bonfante, founder and CEO of CIO Bench Coach.

“They have the tendency to say yes to everything,” he says. “If you say yes to everything, you may be popular on the front end, but you become very unpopular when you can’t deliver.”

Managers who want to boost their performance need to set limits, Bonfante says. That doesn’t necessarily mean saying “no” all the time, but they do need to prioritize.

“And they need to learn that the answer [to a request] is, ‘How and when?’” Bonfante adds. “They need to say, for example, ‘Given the current financial and human resources we have, we can do three of the five things you want to do. Which of the three are most important? What can go on the back burner? Are there things we can sunset to put more on the front burner?”

6. They’re not doing enough upfront listening

Speed and enthusiasm can work against managers success, says executive coach Sue Kozik.

Kozik says managers — and particularly junior ones new to their roles — “want to jump right in and solve problems because they want to demonstrate their value and because, as technologists, they’re problem-solvers. So they stop listening too early and start actioning before they have all the information.”

That tendency can be compounded by the lack of insight into the business, its operations, and its challenges that many IT managers often still have, she says.

“They don’t know the way the business works, they’re not as curious about how the business works because they’re focused on IT, and they want to drag [their business counterparts] into the IT world rather than jump into their business world,” says Kozik, who retired in July from her role as senior vice president and CIO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana after 45 years in IT.

This can lead to a technically great solution, which might be the minimum requirement for the manager’s post, but it doesn’t deliver the home run that higher-ups want from their managers, Kozik says.

She says CIOs and the managers themselves can train to deliver top-notch results by seeking opportunities where they, as managers, can engage their business counterparts in conversations outside the time constraints of project and product delivery. That may mean, for example, having managers sit in on a strategy meeting or meet with department heads just to listen and learn.

7. They’re not a clone

No two workers are alike, and chances are managers have different strengths, weaknesses, and ways of working than their supervisors.

Some supervisors forget that, Piddington says.

“More often than not we expect managers to be us,” he says. “We think they should be able to do something because we used to do it, but we have to take a step back and realize that each manager is different. We also work differently, and just because some things were easy for us to do, we can’t assume that those things are easy for everyone.”

CIOs should not want or seek managers with the exact same strengths or approaches as they or other senior leaders have, as research confirms that diversity of thought and experience is good for the workplace and organizational success, Piddington says.

Senior leadership needs to keep that in mind when evaluating their managers, to ensure they’re coaching and guiding their managers where and how needed and, just as importantly, they’re judging them on their merits and not on whether they’re clones of themselves.

8. They’ve plateaued

Managers who aren’t exceeding expectations may indeed be able to do so but they’ve hit a plateau, Piddington says.

Some may have become too comfortable where they are and may not be motivated, in which case they’ll need insights that could motivate them forward. Others may not know how to move forward and “will need to be coached to know what that next step means,” Piddington says.

He cites as an example his work with one manager who was great at the nuts and bolts but needed to work on becoming a better leader by honing communication and change management skills. The manager wasn’t able to exceed expectations until he built up his leadership capabilities.

9. They’re aiming for speed (above all else)

IT must work to keep up with the rapid pace of technology advancement and innovation, yet IT managers can miss the mark if they overly index for speed.

“Sometimes [managers] are in such a hurry to get things done that they don’t take the time they need to get clarity, to get all the stakeholders on the bus to accomplish things all together and instead leave people on the side of the road,” Bonfante says. “They move fast but end up in the wrong spot.”

Consequently, the managers get praise for velocity but rebukes for failing to hit objectives, he adds.

Managers (and their own supervisors and CIOs) can still prioritize speed, of course, Bonfante says. But everyone needs to invest the time required to set the compass on the right course before speeding off.

“That’s an issue with the organization’s culture, not just a manager’s decision,” he adds.

10. They’re not yet true leaders

IT has shed its reputation as a back-office function and is now integral to business success, but many IT managers still lack the fundamental business skills needed to succeed, says Craig Stephenson, global head of the tech, ops, data/AI, and infosec officers practice at management consulting firm Korn Ferry.

They’re not effective listeners. They don’t communicate ideas as articulately as they should. They can’t influence others or effectively manage stakeholders. And they can’t create mission and purpose for their teams.

“It could be that they’re not getting the support internally they need or haven’t developed or trained in terms of people leadership,” Stephenson says.

Such deficits can ding their performance reviews. But, like other shortfalls in management capabilities, these can be overcome with training and development such as rotational tours of duty through business units, Stephenson says.