How to Manage a Rapidly Growing IT Team

These are boom times for IT organizations and their leaders. As all types of enterprises look to collect customer insights, streamline services, and gain a competitive edge, IT teams are expanding rapidly. Yet with rapid growth comes the danger that poorly managed expansion can lead to oversights, lax planning, missed deadlines, and general confusion.

When an IT organization experiences sudden expansion, the structure that served it well previously may no longer be adequate to handle increasing demands, observes James Velco, founder and principal at IT services and consulting firm TechNoir CIO Solutions, in an email interview. "Fixed roles and rigid hierarchies leave no room for shifting priorities or smoothly absorbing new responsibilities."

Room to Grow

The key to keeping pace with rapid growth lies in structuring an IT team that embraces new technology and training to stay current, says Diane Rafferty, managing director, national technology group, at employment placement firm Atrium, via email. "If you don't offer training on the most up-to-date technologies, your team will have to do more with less."

Leadership must clearly define expectations, yet leave room for movement, Velco says. "Autonomy inspires ownership of roles and collaborative problem-solving beyond defined bounds," he explains. Structures alone don't scale, Velco notes, but processes do. "Implementing agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban encourages frequent reassessment and adjustment." 

Related:How to Structure an IT Operations Team for Organizational Success

When it comes to preparing for team growth, Daniele Gemignani, CTO at no-code business process automation solution provider Pipefy, is a strong believer in mentorship and leadership development programs. "For teams with a mix of seniority levels, pairing junior members with more experienced mentors can accelerate their development and readiness to take on more complex tasks or leadership roles," she says in an email interview. "Investing in leadership development ensures that your managers are prepared to handle the challenges of a growing team, from conflict resolution to strategic planning."

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