Technology keeps getting faster. Teams keep getting more spread out. Work keeps getting louder. In the middle of all this sits IT leadership. Not just systems and tools. People. The leaders who thrive next will not win by knowing the most code. They will win by understanding people.
Few leaders understand this better than Roman Meydbray. With more than a decade leading global IT teams in healthcare and med-tech, he has managed high-pressure systems where mistakes carry real consequences. He has led large teams across countries, guided major mergers, and worked inside strict compliance rules. His edge was never just technical skill. It was how he worked with people when the stakes were high.
This is where IT leadership is headed. Toward emotional intelligence. Fast.
Why Technical Skill Is No Longer Enough
For years, IT leaders were rewarded for precision. Fix the issue. Keep systems running. Close the ticket. That world is gone.
Today, work is more complex. Teams are remote. Time zones blur. Stress is constant. According to Gallup, only 33% of employees feel engaged at work. That number drops even lower in high-stress technical roles.
Burnout is rising. A 2024 study by Asana found that 71% of knowledge workers reported burnout at least once in the past year. IT teams feel it first.
In this environment, pure technical skill does not calm teams. Clear communication does. Trust does. Awareness does.
As one seasoned IT leader put it, “Most outages I’ve seen weren’t caused by broken systems. They were caused by broken conversations.”
What Emotional Intelligence Looks Like in IT
Emotional intelligence sounds soft. It isn’t. It is practical. It shows up in real moments.
It looks like noticing when a senior engineer goes quiet during a meeting. It looks like asking why a support team is closing tickets fast but sounding drained. It looks like slowing down during a crisis so people don’t panic.
This kind of leadership prevents problems before dashboards light up.
Roman Meydbray once shared a story from a major integration project. Two companies. Two IT teams. One tight deadline. Early signs showed tension. Meetings felt rushed. Questions stopped coming.
“I realized silence was the risk,” he said. “People weren’t confused. They were afraid to slow things down.”
He paused the rollout for one week. He met with small groups. He listened. Issues surfaced that no report had shown. The integration succeeded because people felt safe speaking up.
That is emotional intelligence at work.
The Cost of Ignoring Emotional Signals
Ignoring emotions does not make them disappear. It pushes them underground.
When leaders miss these signals, small issues grow. Misunderstandings turn into rework. Burnout turns into turnover.
Replacing an experienced IT employee can cost 50% to 200% of their annual salary. That comes from recruitment, training, and lost knowledge. Those costs never show up on a system log.
Emotional intelligence helps leaders spot risk early. Not after damage is done.
Communication Is the Real Infrastructure
Most IT leaders think in systems. Networks. Tools. Security. The real infrastructure is communication.
Clear expectations prevent stress. Calm language prevents panic. Listening prevents mistakes.
One habit that strong leaders use is simple. Ask frontline staff what slows them down. Not in surveys. In short conversations.
Meydbray has said that some of his best improvements came from five-minute talks with support staff. One example involved a ticket process that looked efficient on paper but confused users. Fixing it took one afternoon. Frustration dropped immediately.
“You don’t need a new tool,” he explained. “You need to hear the right sentence at the right time.”
Emotional Intelligence During High-Pressure Moments
Crisis reveals leadership fast.
During audits, breaches, or integrations, emotions spike. Fear shows up as silence or blame. Strong leaders manage energy, not just tasks.
This starts with tone. Calm voices slow teams down. Clear priorities reduce noise. Leaders who stay present keep others steady.
A useful rule during crisis is this. Speak last. Let others share first. Patterns emerge quickly.
That approach has helped teams avoid rushed decisions that later cause downtime or compliance risk.
How IT Leaders Can Build Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence can be learned. It takes practice.
Build Awareness First
Notice patterns. Who speaks less over time. Who rushes answers. Who avoids meetings. These are signals.
Write them down. Patterns matter more than single moments.
Ask Better Questions
Replace “Is everything fine?” with “What part of this process is annoying right now?” You will get better answers.
Slow Down Decisions
Fast decisions feel productive. They often create more work. Pausing saves time later.
Train Managers to Listen
Many issues never reach leadership. Train managers to listen without fixing immediately. Understanding comes before solutions.
Measure Experience, Not Just Output
Track how long work feels hard, not just how fast it finishes. Friction hides risk.
Why Younger IT Leaders Must Learn This Early
New leaders often believe credibility comes from having answers. It doesn’t. It comes from creating clarity.
Early in his career, Meydbray rolled out a support process that failed. It checked every technical box. Adoption was poor.
“I didn’t involve the people using it,” he admitted later. “I thought logic would carry it. It didn’t.”
That lesson shaped how he leads today. Listening first. Designing second.
The Future Belongs to Calm Leaders
As automation grows, human skills matter more. Tools will keep improving. People will still need trust.
Future IT leaders will be judged on how teams feel working with them. Not just uptime. Not just speed.
According to Deloitte, organizations with strong leadership trust outperform peers by 2.5 times. Trust starts with emotional intelligence.
The best leaders will be calm. Curious. Clear. They will treat people as part of the system, not obstacles to it.
Practical Actions to Start Today
- Schedule short one-on-one check-ins focused only on friction
- Ask one open question at the end of every meeting
- Write down patterns you notice in team behavior
- Slow one major decision this month and gather feedback
- Thank someone for speaking up when it was uncomfortable
These actions cost nothing. The return is large.
Final Thought
IT leadership is changing. The work is no longer just about keeping systems alive. It is about keeping people steady while systems change.
The leaders who succeed will not be the loudest or the fastest. They will be the most aware.
As Roman Meydbray once put it after a long night resolving an issue, “The system recovered in minutes. The team needed care for weeks.”
That truth will shape the next era of IT leadership.
Peyman Khosravani is a seasoned expert in blockchain, digital transformation, and emerging technologies, with a strong focus on innovation in finance, business, and marketing. With a robust background in blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi), Peyman has successfully guided global organizations in refining digital strategies and optimizing data-driven decision-making. His work emphasizes leveraging technology for societal impact, focusing on fairness, justice, and transparency. A passionate advocate for the transformative power of digital tools, Peyman’s expertise spans across helping startups and established businesses navigate digital landscapes, drive growth, and stay ahead of industry trends. His insights into analytics and communication empower companies to effectively connect with customers and harness data to fuel their success in an ever-evolving digital world.
