Never before has business success been so dependent on technology. Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and the need to secure all of that has meant that the business depends more and more on IT.

This all means that IT has a seat at the C-suite. The IT leader is required to not only direct the business in what technology to buy to meet strategic plans, but that person must also lead the IT team on how to implement and maintain that technology.

Being a leader in the IT industry is different from being a leader in any other industry. Successful IT leaders have to have very specific skills, but still know how to run a team. And that means they must master the so-called soft skills that are not taught formally. To become successful, and remain so, strong IT leaders take initiative in educating themselves in a variety of aspects of the tech industry; they delegate tasks in order to improve efficiency and maximize the strengths of team members; and they focus on problem solving – or find someone who can, if they need backup. Read on to find out more about the skills that really help get the job done.

In a recent email conversation, Bill Peppler, managing partner at Kavaliro, an award-winning IT recruiting firm, talked to IT Business Edge’s Toni Bowers about what successful IT leaders do.