4 Strategies for Managing Junior IT Professionals

28.08.2012
Spring and summer school sessions have ended, and, if you're like a number of organizations around the globe, you have a giant pile of resumes and just a handful of openings for some fresh faces to join your firm at the bottom rungs of the corporate ladder. Hiring the right person is a difficult process, but managing the new employees--or, let's be honest, managing any employee--is even more challenging. Nobody sets out to be a bad manager, but that transformation can happen over time if your policies and your behavior are left unchecked.

Tip:

It doesn't have to be that way. Indeed, there are a few concepts that are central to being a good manager to junior IT professionals who are eager to make their mark. Let's take a look at some of the most important tenets to managing junior administrators--and, really, anyone who is your direct report.

Allow People to Fail.

Failure should be welcomed, particularly in junior roles. Otherwise, there is no room for growth.

We're all attuned to avoid failure. It seems like it's basic human nature to steer clear of making mistakes and causing disappointment. However, to write off failure as simply a wrong to be avoided ignores the basic principle of professional growth--by making mistakes, causing a problem and enrolling ourselves in the process of rectifying that problem, we grow, learn and mature in our careers.