Alexander Kjerulf in this article identifies 10 mistakes that managers make when leading geeks. Things like recognitions, training, communication, decision-making are considered in his list of mistakes:
- Downplay training
- Give no recognition
- Plan too much overtime
- Use management-speak
- Try to be smarter than the geeks
- Act inconsistent
- Ignore the geeks
- Make decisions without consulting them
- Don’t give them tools
- Forget that geeks are creative workers
However I would say those may be the mistake for managing any professionals, not just IT geeks.
How NOT to lead geeks – [Positive Sharing]
I would agree Leon and take it a step further: this list applies to managing EVERYONE if you have any degree of respect whatsoever for a person’s intelligence and dignity.
Another way to look at it … geeks, techies, managers, peers, suppliers, customers, – your children – all people craving recognition, involvement, and your aloha.
I agree that these mistakes also apply to other kinds of employees besides geeks.
I chose to focus on geeks because:
1) These mistakes tend to annoy geeks the most
2) Happy geeks are becoming crucial to most companies
3) I used to be a geek. Still am in many ways
My favorite book on this topic is Richard Florida’s RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS. It’s served as a sort of bible for me over the last year. Although, for the most part I use this bible to say, “YEah! Right! What he said!” instead of finding ways to integrate myself into the world.
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