Its Appraisal time in my Company and as with most companies there is a section in the appraisal process where you are asked what do you expect from the managers.
I don't really know what they want/expect as an answer . I proud myself of being a
Geek as most IT folk. And I don't mean
geek in the derogatory sense it most often used.In My dictionary Geek means "
an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity".
The main reason IT people are unhappy at work is bad relations with management, often because geeks and managers have fundamentally different personalities, professional backgrounds and ambitions. Some people conclude that geeks hate managers and are impossible to lead. The expression “managing geeks is like herding cats” is sometimes used, but that’s just plain BULLSHIT.
Here are some top ways that I wish my managers managers understood then they can lead IT team or Geeks effectively and respectfully.
1.
Value training. If a boss thinks that training is a waste of money and expects you to teach yourself, you feel pretty demotivated in any job. Training matters, especially in IT, and managers must realize that and budget for it. Sometimes you get the argument that “if I give them training a competitor will hire them away.” That may be true, but the alternative is to only have employees who are too unskilled to work anywhere else. Also, if you pay them well and have good benefits, they won't go somewhere else.
2.
Give recognition. Since managers may not understand the work geeks do very well, it’s hard for them to recognize and reward a job well done, which hurts motivation. The solution is to work together to define a set of goals that both parties agree on. When these goals are met the geeks are doing a great job.
3.
Don't Overwork the Geek. Avoid taking the approach of wringing as much as possible out of IT employees just because you figure they don't lead a normal life. Wrong! That’s a huge mistake and overworked geeks burn out or simply
quit.
4.
Avoid using management-speak. Geeks hate management-speak and see it as superficial and dishonest. I am not saying manages should learn to speak tech, but they should drop the
biz-buzzwords. For Example a manager can say “We need to proactively impact our time-to-market” or simply use plain English and stick to “We gotta be on time with this project”. The latter makes total sense to everyone involved.
5.
Don't try to be smarter than the geeks. When managers don’t know anything about a technical question, they should simply admit it. Geeks respect them for that, but not for pretending to know. And we will catch it - geeks are smart.
6.
Act consistently. Geeks have an ingrained sense of fairness, probably related to the fact that in IT, structure and consistency is critical. The documentation can’t say one thing while the code does something else, and similarly, managers can’t say one thing and then do something else.
7.
Include them in decisions. Never make decisions without consulting geeks. Geeks usually know the technical side of the business better than the manager, so making a technical decision without consulting them is one of the biggest mistakes a leader can make. For Example when managers come to us and say, "I have already committed to this deadline for delivery, You have get this done before the deadline." Dude!! You should have asked the geek how much time it would take before committing the date.
8.
Give them the tools needed. A fast computer may cost more money than an older one and it may not be
corporate standard, but geeks use computers differently. A slow computer lowers productivity and is a daily
annoyance. So is outdated software. Give them the tools they need. Understand that tools come in many forms. Caffeine is considered a standard tool among Geeks. It's good to keep a supply of the caffeinated beverages your team prefers handy.
9.
Remember that geeks are creative workers. Programming is a creative process, not an industrial one[like management]. Geeks must constantly come up with solutions to new problems and rarely ever solve the same problem twice. Therefore they need leeway and flexibility. Strict dress codes and too much red tape kill all innovation. They also need creative surroundings to avoid “
death by cubicle”.
10.
Geeks don't like dead weight. No one does. If you have any, get rid of it, and your team will be better off. Teams only work when everyone is pulling their weight.
Last but not the least "
Geeks are smart. Don't assume smart people always have sound judgment- they don't. Rely on the ones who have it; learn from them- evolve.". Everybody is entitled to make mistakes, even the Geek.
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