The care and feeding of geeks...

Top 10 Ways to Motivate Geeks

This is a good little article about managing, or as I call it "wrangling" geeks.

I'll manage your hardware, your software, your firmware and your middleware - but don't ask me to manage your meatware.

That's not really true - but I am most happy when I'm not responsible for blowing noses or wiping bums at work. Plenty of that at home!

If you're going to give me a team, then give me a team and let me manage them. Don't use my position as a way to protect yourself from the effects of your decisions. Several times in the past I've found my technical and trouble shooting abilities lifting me to the top of a team. This frequently comes with a title like "Team Lead" or "Senior Whatever".

In most cases it comes with nothing but headaches. Responsibility for the team with no real authority leads to everyone being unhappy. If you use team leads or senior techs in your group so you don't have to deal with the people you're actually responsible for managing you'll find they've carved out a special little corner of hell just for you!

I actually enjoy leading (notice I didn't say managing) a team or a group or an organization. Part of being a good leader is good managment. LOTS of people and organizations have this backwards - they think good leadership is part of being a good manager. If you don't understand the difference go read Ender's Game.

I have a very hands off approach to management. I don't like having the responsibility of moistening a chair for 40 hours a week and think it's a waste of any persons time. With professionals in any business measuring their performance by measuring how much time they spend sitting in their designated work compartment is a waste of time, but at least it fills in some of your own chair jockey hours. I set REAL goals for my team and the individuals in it.

As a manager I feel it's my responsibility to find the very best available individual to tackle a task alone or on a team. It's then my responsiblity to keep my team informed, equipped and prepared as well as acting as a liason between them and other organizations in the business. A good manager should be confident enough in the people on their team to do their job that beyond measuring their progress toward the teams goals there's no need to interfere with "how" someone does it. If you really hired a professional they already know "how".

I measure goals and progress toward them. If they are realistic and clearly defined and if you've selected the right people for the right tasks you will make them, but not if you're too busy demoralizing those individuals and groups by wasting their time and yours worrying about cookie-cutter standards.

Everyone uses the buzz words "Outside the Box" - how do you expect people to THINK outside the box if you don't let them OUT OF THE FUCKING BOX!?