Leading the Digital Workforce

Table of contents

1. Cover Page
2. Half-Title Page
3. Series Page
4. Title Page
5. Copyright Page
6. Dedication Page
7. Contents
8. Preface
9. Acknowledgments
10. About the author
11. Part I Foundations
    1. 1 Playing the long game of leadership
       1. The digital workforce
       2. What makes technical work so challenging?
       3. Should you just get an MBA?
       4. Born or made: can you learn leadership?
       5. There is no failure
       6. The impact of poor leadership
       7. The long-term perspective
       8. Summary
       9. References and further reading
    2. 2 The average IT leader is … average
       1. The technology leadership crisis
       2. What is leadership, anyway?
       3. The management-leadership continuum
       4. Are you sure you want to lead? Ten questions to ask
       5. How to be an IT leader worth following
       6. The path ahead
       7. Summary
       8. References and further reading
    3. 3 Master your mindset
       1. Why your mindset matters
       2. Establishing your leadership philosophy
       3. Good followers: the other side of leadership
       4. The smartest one in the room
       5. Trust and integrity
       6. Staying grounded
       7. There are no soft skills
       8. Leaders are readers
       9. Summary
       10. References and further reading
    4. 4 IT leadership peak performance
       1. What is peak performance IT leadership?
       2. Systems: the algorithm of success
          1. Morning and evening routines
       3. Managing emotions
       4. Stress, burnout and the myth of work-life balance
       5. Imposter syndrome: taming the inner critic
       6. Distractions will make you mediocre
       7. Cognitive load and decision fatigue
       8. The path to peak performance doesn’t end
       9. Summary
       10. References and further reading
12. Part II Leadership in action
    1. Living in a VUCA world
    2. The OODA loop: The Rosetta Stone for leadership agilit
    3. Summary
    4. References and further reading
    5. 5 Starting a new job: How to thrive
       1. Before your first day at a new job
       2. Your first week on the job
       3. Your first 90 days matter, but not as much as you think
       4. Prioritize relationship building
       5. Get to know your boss
       6. Get to know your team
       7. Summary
       8. References and further reading
    6. 6 A crash course in strategic planning
       1. Why strategic planning is important
       2. How strategic planning is different from managing a project
       3. Developing a strategy
          1. Step 1: understand the problem or opportunity
          2. Step 2: analyze the environment
          3. Step 3: form the plan
          4. Step 4: getting support for your plan
          5. Step 5: execute, monitor, and measure
       4. Culture eats strategy for breakfast
       5. Summary
       6. References and further reading
    7. 7 Building a high-performance team
       1. Attracting great people: with or without a big budget
       2. What is a high-performance team?
       3. Creating psychological safety
       4. The leader as coach
       5. Managing conflict
       6. Five secrets of high-performing teams
       7. Quiet quitting and other headwinds
       8. Leading through crisis
       9. Succession planning: how and why to obsolete yourself as quickly as possible
       10. Summary
       11. References and further reading
    8. 8 Execution and getting things done
       1. Why execution matters
       2. Develop an execution mindset
       3. The top reasons IT projects fail
       4. Prioritize using the Eisenhower Matrix
       5. Distractions and lesser goals
       6. Leading when you’re not in charge
       7. Reporting progress and finishing what you started
       8. Summary
       9. References and further reading
    9. 9 Leading from anywhere: A guide to the hybrid office
       1. Trust is the foundation of remote work
       2. Communication
       3. Set clear expectations
       4. Making hybrid work … work
       5. Summary
       6. References and further reading
    10. 10 Giving back: Industry leadership and the next generation of leaders
        1. Mentoring the next generation of talent
        2. Industry initiatives and organizations
        3. Roll your own leadership development program
        4. Becoming a thought leader without making it all about you
        5. Giving back through entrepreneurship
        6. Other ways to give back
        7. Summary
        8. References and further reading
    11. 11 Leading from the edge: The future of work
        1. IT leadership and the future of work
        2. Web 3.0: power to the people
        3. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) replaces some jobs but creates others
        4. Middle managers go extinct
        5. 5G and 6G brings high-speed internet everywhere
        6. The skills-based economy eliminates the need for a college degree
        7. The metaverse makes work even weirder
        8. Creativity becomes the new differentiator
        9. Become a technology futurist
        10. Summary
        11. References and further reading
13. Conclusion: Time is the ultimate disruptor
14. Appendix
    1. Further reading for IT leaders
    2. Journal prompts
    3. Leadership superpowers
    4. Breath awareness meditation
    5. IT organizations
15. Index