Geeks in Management? 763
The Other Side of the Coin asks: "I've been doing a relatively interesting job until now, but they've pushed me into management recently. Although the new position is pretty boring (I manage normals), I do still have time for all the geeky stuff I used to do before. My problem is: I have no formal (or any other, for that matter) management training. Sure, I'll read a lot about it (and take some education), but what are your experiences as geeks in management? For example, I naturally started to use Borgish management methods, and this wasn't received well by people, to say the least. What are the most difficult hurdles for a manager geek to jump, and can our personality be used as an advantage in management?"
Must Read (Score:5, Informative)
WatchThe Office. (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Must Read (Score:5, Informative)
Tips for management - Try not to manage! (Score:3, Informative)
Try to emulate that.
Golden Rule of Management (Score:2, Informative)
People will hate you. (Score:5, Informative)
After being part of the "mobile work force" for more years than I can remember, the biggest problem encountered in larger companies are people that have been promoted to management based on seniority as opposed to training or skill.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to start a flame war, because I've worked for some people that have no training that were great, and conversely I've worked from BComms where I wanted to go postal.
Managers who are technical sometimes have the tendency to still poke their fingers in where they can. DO NOT POKE. Delegate. Otherwise you are discounting your minions and taking on more than you can chew.
The best manager is the one that recognizes accomplishment, delegates, and rewards. Micromanagement is a trap many fall into - so remember what it is all about: facilitating people who work under you to feel empowered, and be empowered to do the work. The day you complain some guy is always 5 minutes late, when he is twice as productive as the guy next to him, is the day you need a smack upside the head.
I've worked for so many clueless managers that either have sales backgrounds or technical backgrounds... the sales guys always promise more and the client, not the worker, is their priority. The technical guys usually have stale skillsets and think they can do everything better with PowerBuilder.
Remember - work your people skills. Some people shouldn't be management. Some belong in the trenches.
What works for me, but I am lucky (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Pretty Ironic... (Score:4, Informative)
I was a programmer, then manager, then programmer (Score:5, Informative)
I was a teacher at a University and I was also a student in the 4th year. I taught first year students. They never challenged me and I was a great teacher (or so I like to think). I also taught 3rd year students. These students challenged me in every way they could. They tried to ask me questions to show that they knew more than me. In this scenario I was a terrible teacher (until I realised what I was doing) because I would either, if I knew the answer, react by putting them down or if I didn't know the answer, I reacted defensively.
2) Don't base your self esteem on knowing more than everyone else about technology. You have to accept that you now are expected to be good on something else.
I am a geek and was promoted to a manager. And I really love the technical side. I was secure in myself but after a while there were inevitably situations where people knew more about the parts of the system that we were building, and the technology we used. I started loosing the platform from where I had previously gotten my self esteem. This can be a bit painful.
3) Don't be a detail fascist, unless you really have to. You'll have people under you which are good. Don't lean over their shoulder and tell them how to do things. You should however oversee that interfaces between people work well (unless you have a guy that is responsible for that).
If you are a fascist about details, then you will have to be one forever. Noone else will step up and take responsibility for good designs.
4) Management by walking around.
There are different ways of managing people. I don't know which one is best, but I know what I prefer, both to use as a manager, and for my manager to use. Make a habit of walking around and have little informal talks with people. Talk about the NY Yankees or some interesting problem, or an actual management issue that you need to discuss with this person. The upshot with this is that you'll always stay very aware what is going on and if someone is brooding over something they will let you know before it becomes a big issue.
Well, that's what I can think of straight off the bat. Good luck. And if I had to summarize all of the above and give you one advice, then don't let your insecurity lead you to react defensively.
Re:Is this a joke? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:You have an advantage (Score:5, Informative)
EVEN IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THE JOB, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEAVE YOUR TEAM ALONE.
The worst thing is the engineer-turned-manager who constantly has to have his hands in everyone and the dog's work because he thinks he is still hot and knows better than those kids how to do stuff. Even if this is the case: If you find out your team is staffed with total idiots rather fire them and get better ones than try to do their work for them. Just won't work out.
You still can give a demonstration of your geek-god-like skills from time to time at chosen occasions to show them that they cannot tell you an X for an U, and you can give them good advice IF THEY ASK YOU FOR IT, but otherwise just manage them and don't do their work. Been there, done that, and it just didn't work out, neither for them nor for me.
Re:What Helped Me (Score:3, Informative)
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed. [amazon.com]
It is a little centered towards a development crew, but I think all of the ideas work well for any kind of IT management. I highly recommend it, and have several people who've read my copy. I've even thought about giving it to some of my previous managers anonymously.
Re:Must Read (Score:5, Informative)
The power of this book is not that it reveals some hidden truths that turn you into Mr Personality, but rather, it is a list of examples and a collection of reminders. Reading the book frequently to keep the suggestions in your mind, you will more easily remember to do things that you know you should probably do anyway.
For example, one chapter is dedicated to smiling. You should smile often, because it makes you seem happier, more approachable, and a nicer person in general. Our mothers always tell us we should smile more, but most people don't really think about it (I look for smiling people on the Metro when I go to and from work - people never smile who are there alone, and rarely if they are with someone).
Consider it a book of reminders that will keep your personality friendly and brighten your day and the days of those around you, and make your managerial job a hundred times easier. Highly recommended for anyone who ever has to deal with people in any fasion - which is everyone. And at $10 CDN, it's a steal.
A serious reply... (Score:2, Informative)
Another thing that has been very important to me...a great manager (IMHO) is someone who doesn't forget about their employee's career development. Many times I have been involved with projects where if I could work 24 hours my manager would want me to work 24 hours. But no matter the project, everyone has to have time to continue their career development (most projects add experience but rarely address what you need for The Next Big Thing). A great manager will insist his employees take time for education, etc., even when they are super dedicated to the current effort (i.e. workaholics). I think geeky people are especially prone to being workaholics, so sometimes a manager has to make them stop working on the project and take time off for education (at least, that's been my experience).
Another thing, you will usually find one person who does a certain task better than anyone else and teams naturally tend to orient themselves so that that the person most talented always does that one job. However, a good manager will make sure everyone learns every aspect of the team's tasks, even if it means sacrificing some efficiency for a time.
My two cents...
One thing I always kept in mind... (Score:2, Informative)
A good manager works for his team -- he provides the resources that they need (within reason), acts like a shit umbrella, to protect them from upper management, and lets them know the things going on in the company that they need to know.
Re:Pretty Ironic... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Must Read (Score:4, Informative)
Noone is saying smile when you are at your grandma's funeral, but for everyday stuff it wouldn't hurt to smile more.
Re:Pretty Ironic... (Score:5, Informative)
Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed. [amazon.com] by Lister and DeMarco -- probably THE book you want to get
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently [amazon.com] by Buckingham -- based on extensive surveys of what makes employees happy with their jobs and bosses, and what they need to do their job effectively
and I've heard good things about Becoming a Technical Leader: An Organic Problem-Solving Approach [amazon.com] by G. Weinberg and How To Win Friends And Influence People [amazon.com] (seen both cited by numerous successful entrepreneurs) but haven't been able to read them yet.
(BTW, those are all non-referrer links, I'm not link-whoring.)
I suggest reading a bunch; you'll start seeing overlap and will understand the basics after the first few. Good luck!
-fren
Barbi Implants? (Score:4, Informative)
Okay, we know the "why", but what about the "how"? I never was good at faking smiles for photo sessions. How does one learn how to fake a smile over long stretches? It is really tough to be happy around people who you would zoom away from at warp speed given a choice.
Lessons Learned (Score:2, Informative)
1) Give credit where credit is due. Don't tell your boss you did things you didn't. Tell your boss who did the work and when someone does a good job make sure your boss knows it. You'll look good because the people you manage look good and your employees will be glad to be acknowledged.
2) Manage expectations. Make sure people know what the should be working on and when it will be due. Don't spring things on people and demand they be done immediately unless you really have to. Don't be the manager that cries wolf.
3) When there is work to be done and everyone else is working, do the work. Assuming you can. If you can't, help do the stuff you can so you free up someone to do it. Don't just complain, lead.
4) Listen. It is likely you employees have some skills and will have something valuable to say. Get their input when something is in their skill set. Don't disregard their input when you get it. If it isn't incorporated, explain why.
5) Stand up for your employees. When they are unnecessarily attacked, defend them. Don't jump on the bandwagon and don't throw them to the wolves. Employees will respect you if they feel you have their back and their interests in mind.
6) Be respectable. If your team doesn't respect you, they won't work for you and they won't stand up for you when you need them to. Be someone you'd respect.
You'll also have to manage up as well as down the ladder, but I'll admit I'm not as good at that. Maybe someone else can help with that.
Re:Important points of a good manager (Score:2, Informative)
- Don't let "giving your team input" turn into "decisions by commitee". Group decisions don't turn out well. The way to give your team input is to empower them to do particular tasks. For example: instead of sitting down with six people and trying to decide everything, split the project into six parts and give one person ablsolute control over each of them. This reduces conflict, makes people more productive, and makes people feel good about themselves. (of course you'd better do a good job of splitting up the task, which will require input from your team)
- Learn how to delegate tasks: When you ask someone to do something make it very clear what outcome you expect. The details of what they're going to do aren't important, just a clear understanding of the expected outcome. It sounds obvious, but it's very easy to forget.
Management Books (Score:1, Informative)
Every organization is different, and each person in that organization is unique. A management technique that works in one place might not work at the other, but if you understand the theories and priciples underlying all management techniques, you'll be able to form your own management style that will fit with your organization and your employees.
P.S. - As far as books go, I recommend Managing Human Resources, by Susan Jackson & Randall Schuler. It's a textbook, but it's not too bad for reading and it's a good start for learning the principles to make you a successful manager.
Manage like Captain Picard (Score:3, Informative)
-Picard understood the strengths and weaknesses of all of his team members, and delegated tasks appropriately.
Engineering difficulties? Have Geordi take care of it. Ship morale low? Get counselor Troi on it. Unknown problem affecting ships computers? Have Data try to figure it out.
-Picard knew enough about everything on his ship (science, engineering, etc) to understand reports and make solid decisions, but he didn't try to do everything himself.
-Picard does his homework.
When the Enterprise is scheduled to cross through alien space, he reads up on their laws, customs, and politics so that he has a basis for making good command decisions and getting the most out of negotiations.
-Picard asks for suggestions and input from his team members, but isn't afraid stick to his guns when necessary (even if most of the crew disagrees with him).
-Picard stands up for his team members.
Paranoid starfleet admirals interrogating crewmembers without cause? Aliens trying to execute Wesley? Starfleet scientist trying to disassemble Data? Hell no! Picard won't stand for it.
If only more managers took lessons from Captain Picard...
Be Unorthodox (Score:3, Informative)
Good luck!