What qualities should IT managers have?

Rafal, what advice would you give to young managers that just starting their careers?

I would give actually 3 advices:

1) be curious, never stop learning, always try to get to the details of the subject and learn also from every success and every mistake,

2) networking – you need to kow people, you need to know companies, you need to get contacts, because alone you can not do actually anything,

3) last but not least – the collaboration – you might be the best expert but as a single person in this complex world you can not do everything alone, so you have to collaborate with others

What trends in IT management do you consider crucial for the coming years?

Definitely communication, because right now we live in so dynamic world with changes that you have to communicate what is happening around you, with your project or with your team. Another aspect is to push into more transactional leadership. Empower your team, give them ability to make mistakes, to learn but also get the feedback from them. Combination of those two are critical for the future success in IT management.

What qualities do you think the best IT leaders should have?

In my opinion the best IT leaders should have a blend of technical skills and soft skills like communication, ability to inspire but also to express your thoughts very clearly, so your team needs to understand what you do and why you do it. Good leaders are not afraid to change something in the organization but they also know how to transform it into the value for the business that they deliver.