In enterprise technology, we love cloud computing. While for some it may be threatening, for most of us, we see it as an opportunity to change the way we consume, broker, integrate, and secure technology. It’s not about moving application workloads from one building to another, it’s about creating a better technology experience for the business. This can be done regardless of where the server racks are located.

Cloud computing started out with a few basic service models such as Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Server. However, now it is fashionable and feasible to append “as a Service” to just about anything. You can find a list of some of the more common “as a service” proliferations here. Capitalizing on this trend, I thought I’d add another to the list: “Leadership as a Service.” After all, this blog is all about technology leadership. Why not cloudify the concept and see how it goes?

Since cloud as a concrete defined term can sometimes get a bit “cloudy,” I like to ground to the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) definition of Cloud Computing, publication number 800-145. In this document, there are essential characteristics, that I will attempt to apply to leadership:

On-demand self-service

Consumers expect cloud computing resources to be available at their fingertips. How can we model that concept in organizational leadership? Traditional hierarchies create a lot of queue-time for people trying to access your team’s services. Often, the leader is the engagement point for everyone on the outside. To access the team’s services, you have to go through the leader, and the work gets divvied out from there. Leaders that like to control the flow of work to their team often become the choke point. A better approach is to empower your team members to work directly with your customers on normal demand intake work. Leaders should support their team members, but never dis-empower them. The last thing you want to do is take over the customer engagement because it isn’t going well. Then you move the engagement point back to yourself for future requests and re-introduce the choke point.

Broad network access

Cloud applications only work well if there’s a strong network connecting the end user to the back-end cloud resource. Back when networks were less reliable, everything had to be local and synced. Now, it’s all online. Without the connection, nothing works. Just like cloud applications, leaders need a strong network to be effective. Leadership isn’t a solo effort. We need to constantly collaborate with each other, both within our companies, and across our industries. This takes the form of networking in the real world, networking in the digital world, and networking in the world of corporate politics. Leaders are as strong as their networks. That’s one of the reasons why I started this blog. I’d like to connect with each of you so we can make each other better.

Resource pooling

Cloud application runs on shared technology that is provisioned out of a common pool. There isn’t any particular piece of technology that’s dedicated to a particular customer. Leadership in enterprise technology is like that a lot. We operate as a shared service, but the needs of the various business units vary widely. Sometimes we need to tailor and customize our approach based on the situation. One-size-fits-all isn’t a leadership approach that works. Instead, listen and adapt. Have the situational self-awareness to read the situation and change your approach accordingly. Then you can satisfy the work that your many customers demand, without them needing to go out and hire their own dedicated teams. You are their enterprise technology leadership cloud.

Rapid elasticity

Clouds can burst on demand and scale horizontally as the load increases. Can you? Well, probably not. As leaders, we may get tempted to scale horizontally by working 70 hours instead of 40 or 50, but unlike a cloud-based app, there are significant trade-offs in effectiveness. It is necessary at times to scale our effort during crunch-time, but we need to return to a sane schedule when crunch time is over. Perpetual crunch-time leads to burnout and mediocre leadership results. There is one way to scale horizontally, and that’s through leadership multiplication. A leader’s job isn’t just to be an amazing leader, it’s also to replicate that ability in others, therefore scaling your effectiveness. Don’t just do leadership, teach leadership. Then you can scale like the cloud.

Measured service

Good, bad, or otherwise, the final tenant of cloud computing is the “measured service.” This means that for whatever you are consuming, the meter is spinning. Cloud consumption can feel like Clark Griswold’s power meter when he has his house lit up during Christmas Vacation. There is no ambiguity as to what you are actually using. Perhaps you are a metrics nerd. Perhaps you are not. For technology leadership, this is not about metrics, this is about transparency and accountability. This goes in all directions: to your boss, to your direct reports, to your peers, and to your customers. Take away the veil and the defensive posture. Cultivate authentic and trustworthy relationships to tell the real story: good, bad, or ugly about how it’s going. That’s how a real leader leads.

There you have it. Are you a cloud leader? Can you live up to “Leadership as a Service?” Perhaps this is a bit aspirational, but that’s okay. The cloud has unleashed a new way of looking at technology. Leadership principles are often the same way. We need to look at our practices with fresh eyes and question how and why we do what we do. Hopefully, I’ve challenged each of you to take your leadership game to the next level. Like my blog? Please share it with your colleagues. Have thoughts on the subject? Please comment below.