Sven, Nasser, silicon.com and leadership

Over the four years of our history, we've written about leadership many times. One of the first video interviews we published was with a former IT director, who believed that strong leadership was critical to IT departments improving their perception within business.

And yet even now it's clear that little has changed. IT is still often seen as merely a support function for other business units. It is still seen as geeky. And furthermore, IT directors themselves have a self-image problem: when silicon.com attended the IT Directors' Forum earlier this year, we approached several tech bosses to ask them what the biggest cultural issue facing their departments was. The response on far too many occasions was 'low self-esteem'.

Those enamoured with the nuts and bolts of technology sometimes shy away from 'soft' issues and get put off by management speak.

But better leadership - whether at a personal, departmental or corporate level - can go a long way to improving your working life, the life of your department and the operation of your business.

Take this as an example: "I was told early in my career that there's no such thing as a popular captain. You have to segregate yourself from the team. I don't want to be their best mate. I try to be the bloke who gets the best out of them. I'd be wary of anyone who's a popular captain because it means the players are getting their own way all the time and getting to do the things they want to do and sometimes you want them to do things they really don't want to do.

"That's why you have to keep with them so they respect you. You need to keep in mind that you're one of them, and not take yourself too seriously and become some kind of superior being in the dressing room. But you have to get the balance between being one of them and also making sure that when you speak, they listen."

That was Nasser Hussain talking to silicon.com about leading the England cricket team - but his bloody-minded pursuit of perfection, even at the expense of his own personal relationships, has obvious parallels with everyday working life.

Then there's this: "Step one: Share your masterplan. Step two: Make sure the team understands it. Step three: Get 'buy in'. Step four: Criticise and cajole (as appropriate)."

These are Sven Goran Eriksson's key management techniques. They sound obvious - as do Nasser's thoughts - but they can be applied to all sorts of environments. And it seems that people in IT departments everywhere - and we stress this isn't just about IT directors - aren't applying them.

So why not take a few moments to read five of our recent 'soft' pieces about leadership? Try taking some of the messages on board. Who knows: it could lead to a promotion. Some of it's quite entertaining as well, so what have you got to lose...?

NASSER HUSSAIN ON LEADERSHIP, BEING UNPOPULAR - AND MANAGING DARREN GOUGH
http://www.silicon.com/a55394
DAVID TAYLOR'S 'THE NAKED LEADER'
http://www.silicon.com/a54734
"I'M A TIGER, I'M A TIGER" - IT DIRECTOR ASSERTIVENESS
http://www.silicon.com/a53468
IT MANAGEMENT: "IT'S A FUNNY OLD GAME"
http://www.silicon.com/a53798
WHAT FOOTBALL TEAMS CAN TEACH IT TEAMS
http://www.silicon.com/a53766