5 practical tips for emerging IT leaders

When they announced my name on stage at CIO Summit and Awards 2024 as the winner for Emerging ICT Leader of the Year award, my profound disbelief and shock flared up my impostor syndrome one more time as I walked up the stage. While walking up the stairs of that prestigious stage, I realized the immense responsibility I carried on my shoulders representing several women in tech who are walking their paths on their leadership journey while navigating their own complex inner worlds. 

I did not write a winning speech, as I was certain that I wouldn’t be the one taking the award home that day. But even being a finalist was an immense honor! Sharing the day with my Port whānau and having my husband by my side was all the reward I could have hoped to expect. My mentor often reminded me in my moments of doubt that “leadership is about behavior and not about titles.” It was something I held close to my heart, and it became a guiding mantra for every moment when my impostor syndrome flared up, telling me that I couldn’t or shouldn’t do X because I do not have a leadership title. 

My mentor’s voice echoed in my head as I climbed those stairs to deliver a speech from my heart. The little voice of doubt faded away quickly, and immense gratitude filled my heart as I realized how true those wise words had been in my story. 

Following the awards night, once the adrenaline rush from being in the spotlight wore off, I reflected on what exactly helped me be recognized as an emerging leader at my workplace and in the New Zealand tech industry. What follows are some of the insights I got with the help of hot chocolate- and masala tea-powered reflection sessions over the Christmas break. 

1. Discover the power of clarity 

There is nothing quite as powerful as having a focused vision of achieving what you want to achieve and supplementing the process with daily habits that enable you to be the person you want to be. What brings clarity to one person could be boring or borderline insufferable for another. I like to meditate, have a journal and work with a habit tracker, but my tools may not appeal to you. 

It’s important to take some time to identify – out of the million things mentioned in the self-help books about being your best self – what daily rituals align with you as you work your way to becoming the leader you aspire to be. With the amount of doom-scrolling most of us are now used to, it’s important to carve out time away from all distractions and figure out what it is you want to do and what daily habits and rituals can help you get there. 

Having clarity of vision and the ability to execute while staying true to your and your organization’s value systems will help you establish credibility and reliability within your workplace and the industry. Cal Newport’s book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, changed the way I operate and made room for deep work, focus and clarity of thought as I do what I need to do. My practices in creating a distraction-free space for myself where I can find the clarity of my thoughts and visions have helped me work through some mission-critical projects including the one that got me nominated for the Emerging ICT Leaders Award. 

I often work through the parting message I want to leave my audience with on any platform in those deep work sessions. My intent for the message and the keywords that I used to impart that message are often the product of the distraction-free spaces I have created for myself at work and home. Every piece of work product – whether it’s a piece of software or an article – I aim to achieve in a distraction-free space so I can give it the meaningful impact I want it to have on the world. 

As a leader, your clarity of thought, purpose and clear understanding of your organization’s strategic priorities will form the foundation of what your team can deliver to make the company’s mission a reality. In the tech industry, there is always new shiny fish to distract you. Today, it’s artificial intelligence (AI). Yesterday it was blockchain. I’m not saying those technologies don’t add value, but they only add value for the right use cases with the right setup. 

Without clarity of vision and the ability to communicate that vision via an easy-to-understand strategy, it’s very hard for any tech team to deliver on the organization’s strategic priorities. It would be impossible to prioritize what initiative/ technology is right for the organization at a given point in time while future-proofing in alignment with the organization’s aspired dream state. Understanding the organization’s “North Star” paired with the organization’s values can often bring the clarity one needs to work through such dilemmas. When faced with conflicting priorities, I often ask myself, “Will this help the organization in the long term?” The answer offers me the clarity I need to align the objectives to the organization’s strategic direction. 

2. Take charge of your 1:1s 

One-on-one (1:1) meetings offer an opportunity for you to work with your leader and establish a development plan that considers what you would like to achieve within the organization and your team. This also invites your leader to be a co-creator in your success story as you look for opportunities to lead projects, initiatives or teams. 1:1s also conveniently provide your boss an opportunity to coach you in your growth areas or enable support through workshops, training and/or coaching opportunities within or outside the organization. 

I have often found value in having my leaders also serve as my accountability partners as I decide on my yearly goals for upskilling. It has helped me stay true to the course. It all starts with the clarity of thought and purpose. Once you have that, aligning to the organization’s strategic objective could be something your leaders collaborate with you on. 

In general, mastering the art of meaningful 1:1 conversation can help create a peer group around you that can provide counsel, truth bombs or encouragement as you embark on the journey to be the kind of leader you want to be. 

3. Seek out coaches, mentors and peer groups 

There genuinely is no substitute for having mentors who have walked the path you are charting. Simply put: Everyone needs them. Having someone around you who can provide insight into the challenges you will be facing on your leadership journey – not to mention helping you build your leadership muscle – is an absolute privilege, and one that I don’t take for granted. I am the product of the immense effort my mentors have invested in shaping me and for that, I will forever be grateful to them. 

If your mentor is accessible to you in the form of informal coffee catchups, consider yourself lucky. But you don’t have to be limited to people within your own company, city or even country to be able to develop meaningful mentor-mentee relationships. With the power of social media and the internet, connecting with people virtually anywhere in the world is possible. Their geographic location doesn’t matter as much. What does matter is that your values should align with theirs and if they have considerable experience in the industry in which you’re planning to be an emerging leader, they can offer insight as you shape your leadership instincts. 

As someone who is still relatively early in her leadership journey, having access to a leadership coach has changed my entire approach to being the kind of leader I want to be. Coaching as a muscle is a concept all leaders should invest in to help their team members reach their maximum potential. I also believe even coaches need coaches! Having someone to support and enable the inner work that becomes a factor within the first year of leadership has been an absolute game-changer for me. 

There are avenues like Global Women’s Activate Leadership Program that offer not just coaching but a peer support group of established fellows and emerging leaders that can be a brilliant launchpad for wonderful wāhine stepping into leadership. The value of the lessons learned through those coaching sessions extends far beyond learning certain frameworks and tools. It’s the shared experience that forges those at different stages of leadership journeys to come together and help uplift each other. Looking for a network of fellow emerging leaders like CIO’s Emerging Leader’s Forum could also offer opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals who are working through the same joys and challenges of leadership as you. 

4. Go for impact over job titles 

As I mentioned earlier, leadership is not about titles. People often misunderstand the difference between a management title and true leadership. We thankfully live in a world where, especially in tech, you can be a leader without people management responsibilities. You can be an amazing rock star individual contributor who leads mission-critical projects and initiatives while being compensated handsomely without having any aspirations for a management title. 

It’s important to look for opportunities at the heart of what you want to do, that would also help the organization in the long term and support what your team needs to deliver to meet the strategic needs of the department. The power of clarity is crucial to know in what capacity you can add value and what role you can play in your organization’s success story. You could utilize your 1:1s with your leader to communicate your desire to contribute to projects that would also fulfill the goals of your development plan while meeting the needs of the business. Taking the initiative to be an active contributor to your department’s success story would inevitably help you establish your credibility and reliability as an emerging leader. 

5. Help nurture the next generation of leaders 

As the saying goes, a leader is only as good as the other leaders they grow. One of the most important qualities of any leader is their ability to coach, nurture and develop other leaders in their team. Investing in the next generation of leaders and lifting them up is not just reserved for people with fancy titles. I’ve found incredible value in hearing someone authentically share their experiences from all levels. 

Also, a mentor-mentee equation benefits both the mentor and the mentee: There’s as much learning for you in the process as a mentor as there is for a mentee. I have learned tremendous amounts from the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege to coach. Their curious minds and new perspectives have often expanded my horizons as much as sharing my experiences have (hopefully) helped them. 

The tech industry in New Zealand is such a tight-knit community, you are never too far away from someone early on their journey to whom you can lend a helping hand. Some of the most rewarding and nurturing relationships I have had are with the future emerging leaders I get to catch up with over coffee and pay forward the wisdom that has been passed on to me by my coaches, mentors and my life experiences. 

When in doubt, reach out 

I hope these reflections from a fellow emerging leader help you navigate your own leadership journey. Remember, when in doubt just fire up LinkedIn and shoot a message to someone who has or is inspiring you on your journey. The beauty of New Zealand’s tech space is such that you will find yourself having a virtual or IRL coffee with some talented and generous leaders in no time at all! 

Manvi Madan is manager of data and insights at the Port of Auckland. As part of Manvi’s role at the Port, she enables data-informed decisions by teaching machines to provide insights through data. She also mentors and nurtures the members of the data community within and outside POAL as she believes it is the culture that underpins the ethical use of technologies like ML and AI.