When I entered into entrepreneurship within the tech space, I realized quickly that it isn’t about making decisions or just giving orders; it’s more about inspiring and guiding a team toward shared goals. The world of technology is dynamic: innovation, operations and investment all pose challenges.

As an entrepreneur and CEO, my entrepreneurial journey has followed three aspects: adoption; always getting ahead of the trend; and constantly building a resilient and motivated team.

Here are some key leadership traits or leadership tips that helped me build a strong, motivated team and also enabled Pranshtech to remain innovative and resilient, even in the most trying times.

Visionary thinking

This tech world moves at lightning speed, and entrepreneurs must look at today’s trends. We must consider where the market is headed, what kind of problem we can solve, and how we can forecast the trend that will define the future.

At Pranshtech, we are always working toward providing innovative and adaptive IT solutions that are in touch with the future. When we started our custom software development services, we found that all industries require scalable and user-centric applications.

This inspired us to create tailored solutions that will help businesses improve their operational efficiency and enhance their customer engagement. It is this approach that has helped us stay ahead in this competitive market, with our solutions evolving along with the needs of our clients.

A clear and compelling vision provides a common purpose to the team. When everyone understands the bigger picture, they’re motivated to push beyond the routine, contributing to something far more significant than the daily grind. It’s like steering a ship toward uncharted waters – when the crew knows the destination, they work together to navigate through any storm.

Understanding change for better growth

Change is inevitable in tech. It isn’t just a part of the industry; it is the force that drives success. Tech entrepreneurs have to be quite adaptive, always ready to pivot and always open to embracing new technologies.

For example, when we realized the increasing demand for cross-platform mobile applications, we adapted our development processes on time to use frameworks like React Native, allowing us to deliver high-performance mobile apps on both iOS and Android platforms without doubling development time, which ensures that our clients can reach a wider audience efficiently.

Most tech leaders and employees believe in adaptability. As per the Barclays Lifeskills study, 60 percent of employers today believe that adaptability is more important than ever before, and based on a McKinsey survey, 70 percent of senior executives who participated currently believe that innovation is one of the top three growth drivers companies will have in the next years.

Resilience and the ‘heart’ of leadership

Be empathetic as a leader. Empathy allows you to understand what the challenges with the team are, be there for those not-so-good moments, and then celebrate victory together with your people. Trust and cooperation stand as a primary requirement for achievement in most aspects.

I always believed that a leader should be approachable and compassionate. They must understand the emotional dynamics of the team. I make sure, as a CEO, that my company creates an environment that makes the employees feel valued. This culture of empathy has led to higher team retention and satisfaction, two of the most important factors for the continued growth of our company.

Resilience is one such quality a leader must develop in this world of fast-moving tech entrepreneurship. Setbacks, failures and roadblocks come your way as a matter of course. It’s not about how you avoid them, but rather how you respond to them.

Resilience is about learning from failures and emerging stronger.

We have encountered numerous challenges, including very challenging deadlines and difficult technical specifications. But again, our resilience won out, and we overcame these challenges instead of drawing back.

As leaders, the best response to any challenge would be resilience, and leadership by example is a prerequisite. A survey by the Kauffman Foundation also reported that 90 percent of entrepreneurs faced failures. Since failure is part of the success journey in the tech industry, encouraging the team to hold on and not give up, even when things seem impossible or they have failed, will help them innovate and push forward.

Resilience is not just a quality; it’s a mindset that makes all the difference between success and failure.

Agility and risk management

In the world of tech, where change happens at lightning speed, the capability to make swift decisions that evoke certainty is crucial. Being an assertive leader just means calculated risks, trusting your instincts and making tough calls when needed.

At Pranshtech, when we chose to integrate machine learning models in our data analytics services so our clients could unlock actionable insights faster than ever before, this decision included risks, but we took them immediately because we have a team of leads who can anticipate the results.

Entrepreneurship requires that a leader be confident within their team; thus, being decisive is step one. When we move with conviction, even when things are uncertain, we create a culture of trust and momentum. This can be what gives you the edge in the tech industry: to be able to act with conviction or not. Then enjoy the challenge of decisiveness and watch your team rise to meet those challenges.

As entrepreneurs in tech, we understand that the greatest rewards often come from calculated risks. However, a delicate balancing act involving the management of risk – whether financial, technological or market-related – is necessary to employ wisdom and foresight. I have learned that true innovation occurs at the right time when the correct risks are taken and managed properly.

At Pranshtech, we believe that calculated risk is the key to growth. Our decision to go in for mobile application development led us into this competitive market with complete confidence because we could create customized applications that help businesses streamline their operation and engage customers in more effective ways.

As leaders, we must never back down and take risks actively, but instead make smart calculations while trying to measure and mitigate risks. This creates an innovative culture while preventing the setbacks.

The power of clear, transparent leadership

Clear and transparent communication can make or break your success in the tech industry. As leaders, the ability to convey company goals, align teams and keep everyone informed is essential, especially as your team expands. I’ve seen firsthand how transparent communication fosters trust, minimizes errors and drives progress.

We provide clear and transparent communication toward both our clients and the internal teams, ensuring that everyone is aware of the project scope, goals and expectations. Whether through regular updates or feedback sessions, there’s always communication at the center of our success.

A report from The State of Business Communication in 2023, conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of Grammarly, shows that 72 percent of business leaders believe that effective communication has increased their team’s productivity.

So as leaders, we need to ensure that we not only talk but also listen, creating two-way communication. The obvious outcome is reduced misunderstandings and moving ahead as a team toward the very vision shared.

Successful leadership in the sphere of technology is much more than just making the right decisions; it’s about inspiring and empowering your team. A strong and motivated team is built through visionary thinking, adaptability, empathy, resilience and clear communication.

Leadership is about creating a culture of trust and collaboration – in reality, aligning common visions among team members. It sets the stage for success, not only for your company but also for the people you lead, if you are guiding with purpose and creating an environment in which your team can thrive.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.