Unique Skills Every GIS Manager Needs

Having spent many years as a consultant working with GIS managers across various sectors, I've gained valuable insights into the unique challenges they encounter and the attributes that distinguish successful leaders in this field.

GIS managers have responsibilities that extend well beyond merely overseeing technology; they are essential in influencing how organizations leverage geospatial data to enhance decision-making and foster innovation. The most accomplished GIS managers navigate intricate team dynamics and align GIS initiatives with overarching business objectives. Their skill set goes far beyond the technical ins and outs of software.

But recently, I was asked what specific skills I feel are essential for a GIS manager to excel. Not general management capabilities; but skills that are unique to the job of GIS Manager and critical to excelling in the role.

Leadership? Political influence? Strategic thinking? Sure, all are essential skills for a manager. But are they unique to the GIS profession? No.

I want to talk specifics.

With that in mind and after some reflection, here are seven distinctive skills that I feel every GIS manager absolutely, positively needs to have to thrive in this challenging role.

One: Understanding the capabilities of modern GIS

GIS managers need to stay on top of what modern GIS systems can do. Today's GIS platforms are incredibly versatile. They build upon legacy mapping and spatial data management software and incorporate modern capabilities such as live data feeds, workflow automation, artificial intelligence for predictive analysis. They also provide spatially-infused insights on all manner of mobile and web-based devices. If you don't know these capabilities, you risk missing out on opportunities to help your organization solve problems and meet its objectives.

Imagine this: You're a GIS manager at a mid-sized city's planning department. A team member approaches you with an idea to use GIS to track real-time traffic patterns and predict congestion during rush hour. Sounds cool, right? But here's the catch—you're still thinking of GIS as a tool for making zoning maps, not as a dynamic system capable of integrating live data streams. You dismiss the idea, assuming it's too complicated or expensive.

A month later, you find out that a neighbouring city implemented this very solution, and now they're being celebrated for reducing commute times. Meanwhile, your city is stuck fielding complaints about traffic bottlenecks.

By understanding what's possible with modern GIS, you can lead your team to innovate and proactively tackle challenges rather than playing catch-up. Plus, staying informed keeps you ready to respond when decision-makers ask, "Can GIS help with this?" Instead of scrambling for answers, you'll confidently say, "Yes—and here's how."

Two: Articulating the GIS value proposition

To secure buy-in and build support for GIS initiatives, a GIS manager must be able to articulate its value clearly. That means explaining, specifically, how GIS and the geographic approach uniquely contribute to the goals of your organization. As a GIS manager, you know GIS is incredibly valuable, but if you can't clearly explain its impact in terms that resonate with decision-makers, your message gets lost. Leaders don't care about geospatial lingo—they care about results.

Let's say you're a GIS manager at a utility company, and your team just developed a tool that uses GIS to predict equipment failures. It's cutting-edge stuff that could save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and downtime. You're excited to share it with leadership, so you walk into a meeting, fire up your presentation, and start talking about spatial modelling, predictive algorithms, and data layers.

Fifteen minutes in, you notice the CFO checking their phone and the COO looking confused. Then someone interrupts: "This sounds interesting, but... how does it help us hit our bottom line?"

You freeze. You know this tool is valuable, but you didn't frame it in a way that speaks to their priorities.

Here's the lesson: as a GIS manager, you have to bridge the gap between technical capability and business value. Executives don't want to know how the magic happens—they want to know why it matters. Instead of focusing on technical details, you could've said:

"Using GIS, we can predict which assets are at risk of failure, allowing us to plan maintenance proactively. This reduces emergency repair costs by 30% and minimizes service disruptions for customers. It's a win for the budget and our reputation."

Now you've got their attention. You've articulated the GIS value prop.

Three: Managing the all-in cost of GIS systems

The cost of GIS systems extends beyond the software itself, encompassing hardware, licensing, data acquisition, staff training, and ongoing maintenance.

Now, keep in mind this is not unique to GIS. All information systems have multiple components comprising their all-in cost (or total cost ownership). But as GIS manager you'll be the one assumed to be the most familiar with the costs as they pertain to GIS systems and related geospatial services - not a small task considering the breadth of capabilities and integration points of modern GIS systems.

Key questions to ask yourself: have we accurately estimated how many users will need access and at what level to avoid unexpected licensing costs? Do we have sufficient infrastructure to support CPU-intensive workloads? What about training for staff? Are our people sufficiently trained to leverage and support our portfolio of geosolutions? That's another line item, not to mention annual maintenance fees and the cost of troubleshooting issues.

If you're not on top of these factors, you risk blowing your budget and losing credibility with leadership. But if you do your homework—by asking tough questions, planning for future needs, and mapping out total costs over the system's lifecycle—you'll not only avoid nasty surprises but also make a solid case for GIS investments.

Understanding and managing costs isn't just about keeping the budget in check—it's about showing that you're a strategic thinker who knows how to make GIS work and make it worth the money.

Four: Understanding how GIS integrates with other systems

GIS doesn't exist in isolation - at least, it shouldn't.

In most organizations, GIS tools and systems fit into a broader ecosystem of enterprise systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Asset Management platforms. It also straddles the world of data analytics and interoperability systems such as Microsoft Power BI and Google BigQuery . These systems collectively support workflows that span multiple departments or lines of business. It's critical that a GIS manager be conversant in these systems and the key GIS integration points to ensure end-to-end processes are supported and to avoid the inefficiencies resulting from siloed systems and data.

Imagine developing a GIS app for a municipality's emergency response program that wasn't integrated with their dispatch system. Your app might do a great job of mapping out road closures, evacuation zones, and shelter locations—everything first responders might need during a disaster. But when a storm hits, and first responders try to use the system, you could inadvertently create chaos as dispatchers are forced to spend a lot of time manually copying updates back and forth between systems. When time is of the essence, these inefficiencies can be costly.

As a GIS manager, it's not enough to just know GIS—you need to understand how it connects with the tools your organization already relies on. That's how you ensure GIS isn't just another standalone tool but a core part of your organization's success.

Five: Building a GIS team

A successful GIS program depends on having the right team in place. A GIS manager needs to understand the various roles involved and pathways to developing the necessary, unique skills.

Imagine a company that decides to leave GIS team-building to a general manager with no GIS experience. They approach it like any other department: hire a few tech-savvy people, give them some software, and expect results. But soon, the cracks start to show.

The general manager hires an IT specialist to manage the GIS database, thinking "data is data." However, that person doesn't understand spatial data structures or projections, and critical analysis workflows break down. Then, they hire a graphic designer to create "maps that look good", but the designer doesn't understand geospatial analysis or how to derive meaningful insights from data. Finally, they assign a data analyst to the team who's great with numbers but struggles to integrate non-spatial data into GIS workflows.

The result? A fragmented team with mismatched skills, inefficient workflows, and frustrated employees.

GIS is a unique field that blends spatial thinking, technical expertise, and domain-specific knowledge. A GIS Manager needs to understand this complexity and build a team capable of handling it. In short, a GIS Manager knows that GIS isn't just another IT function or analytical discipline—it's a specialized field with its own challenges and opportunities.

Six: Managing and governing geospatial data

GIS systems rely on high-quality data, making data governance a critical responsibility for GIS managers. This includes establishing policies for data accuracy, security, access, and compliance with legal and ethical standards. Effective data governance ensures that GIS data remains a reliable and trustworthy resource for decision-making.

The thing about geospatial data that requires specialized management and oversight is that it has quirks that other data types don't. It's tied to coordinate systems and projections and often comes from multiple sources—public records, satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and more, each with varying formats and accuracies, making integration a more complex task.

Geospatial data is also highly dynamic. Land use changes, infrastructure evolves, and real-time data streams provide updates every second. Governance for geospatial data must address temporal accuracy, ensuring that datasets are up-to-date and historical versions are archived for comparison. Ordinary data governance often focuses on static records, with far less emphasis on managing temporal elements.

Managing this data means more than just filing it away; you need processes for version control, metadata documentation, quality assurance, and access permissions. Geospatial data governance is about ensuring that GIS data is accurate, consistent, secure, and properly managed. As a GIS manager, you're the gatekeeper of your organization's most valuable spatial asset: its data. Without good governance, things can go sideways fast.

Seven: Tracking the direction of the GIS industry

The GIS industry is continuously evolving, influenced by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and real-time data integration. A GIS manager must stay informed about these trends and progress being made by key technology vendors in the field to anticipate future needs and guide the organization in adopting innovations that enhance GIS capabilities.

If you fail to track these trends, you risk making decisions that lock your organization into outdated technologies or workflows. Worse, you may miss opportunities to solve problems in innovative ways that stakeholders now expect. On the flip side, when you stay informed about the industry, you can proactively introduce solutions that make your organization a leader.

Let's say you manage a team that's been doing great supporting the tools and workflows you've been using for years. Then, one day, another department asks if they can start using GIS for something like real-time tracking of field crews or predictive analytics for infrastructure maintenance. Your CIO also comes to you asking about porting your on-premise systems to a cloud-based platform to take advantage of elastic, utility-based scaling. Is your GIS cloud-ready or at least cloud-adapted? You pause because while those buzzwords sound familiar, you're not sure how to make them happen or if they're even feasible.

That's the risk of not staying tuned into where the GIS industry is heading. If you don't keep up with these trends, you could be caught flat-footed when someone expects you to deliver. Worse, decision-makers might look outside your team for solutions, leaving GIS out of critical projects.

But if you do stay informed, you become the person who's ahead of the game. When someone asks about cutting-edge technology, you can tell them you're already on it and here's how it could work. In this way, you're not just managing GIS, you're shaping how your organization uses it to solve problems and drive innovation.

Wrapping Up

Being a GIS manager is a challenging occupation. It's about much more than maps—it's about strategy, leadership and making GIS a critical part of your organization's success. From understanding the latest GIS capabilities and communicating their value to managing costs, building the right team and staying ahead of industry trends, the role requires a unique mix of technical know-how and big-picture thinking.

The key point is that mastering these skills isn't just good for the organization, it's good for you too! When you guide a GIS program that solves real problems, saves money, and drives innovation, you're not just a manager; you're a leader. And in a field that's evolving as quickly as GIS, that's exactly what every organization needs.

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Let's talk

Are you a GIS manager or leading a geospatial function? Do these resonate with you? Do you need help in this regard? Send me a DM. I'd like to hear from you!

All the best,

Matt

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The above article is from the Geospatial Edge; my periodic newsletter focused on providing practical insights and advice for managers and executives seeking to apply geospatial technology and the geographic approach to their business.

Matt Lewin is the Director of Strategic Advisory Services at Esri Canada. He is the author of Geospatial Strategy Essentials for Managers Vol 1 and Vol 2 and the host of the Management Perspectives podcast series.