8 tips for cultivating a winning IT culture

Angra suggests building a dynamic IT roadmap that is closely tied to business strategy and is continuously refined by input from relevant stakeholders. “IT leaders should actively engage in this process, ensuring a deep understanding of their roles, business needs, and areas of concern.”

Building a winning IT culture is an ongoing journey, Angra observes. “Start by defining clear guiding principles and apply those principles to your daily actions and decisions,” he advises. “Ensure that every leader in the organization hears and sees these principles being applied consistently.”

Over time, established IT principles will become a natural part of the organizational culture, guiding behavior and decisions. “Remember that building a winning IT culture is an ongoing process, and the consistency of your actions and leadership will play a key role in building a winning IT culture,” Angra says.

7. Establish uniform guidelines

An accomplished CIO establishes precisely defined rules, setting practices and procedures that apply throughout the organization, regardless of position or rank.

Organization guidelines should be both comprehensive and fair. “One strategy is to constantly provide and invite feedback when people feel incorrect choices are being made,” says Jeremy Freeman, CTO at business intelligence software provider Allstacks. He recommends following a coaching and feedback model. “When you detect a problem, bring it up immediately,” Freeman advises. “This approach allows you to focus on the impacts of bad culture in day-to-day interactions.”

Freeman warns against slipping into a command-and-control based organization. While there are times when it may be needed, taking a rigid management stance may create a false sense of alignment. “What you see as a ‘winning’ culture, may just be fear-based compliance,” he says. “When you give people the autonomy and coaching to make their own positive decisions, they start to understand why these things are important, and it’s never just because the ‘boss said so.’”

8. Support team challenges and growth

Lydia Lightfoot, lead IT recruiter at staffing and recruiting firm Carex Consulting Group, says one of the things she hears most from IT job candidates is a desire for challenge and growth. “Providing opportunities for growth is a great foundation for building a winning tech culture, whether it’s promotion, upskilling, attending conferences, new project work, or all of the above.”

Passions common among tech pros include problem-solving, a desire to learn new technologies, and seeing the outcome of their work. “Supporting your team and making sure they’re achieving these things is incredibly important,” Lightfoot says. “People want to feel heard and supported.”