Published on December 22, 2010
GEEK – The very mention is enough to drive any manager up the wall. Repelling images of arrogant, egotistic, hot-headed, anti-social, overpaid know-it-alls agonise the best of leaders. Moreover, they seem to hate managers and fight management decisions at every turn. Managing them is a nightmare; forget about getting the best out of them.
Then again, techies play a critical role in almost any organisation. These highly-skilled people are the brains behind the amazing software and accompanying hardware that run our companies. Lack of good leadership will result in nose-diving productivity, quality and motivation on the one hand and rising absenteeism and turnover on the other. So the big question is ‘How to manage them and keep them happy?'
Wait a minute. Geek is not a bad word and we don't need to construe it as one. These technical wizards are just different from the rest - they have a different personality, different mindset and different ambitions. But this does not mean they are ‘impossible to lead'. It is just that the regular rules of leadership (read: power and control) do not apply here.
Here's a look at the new philosophies for effectively leading IT workers towards success:
Speak their language: IT people have little tolerance for anyone who don't understand what they do. Therefore, to manage techies well, you have no choice but to become a little tech-savvy yourself and thus earn credibility. As a top CIO observes, “If you have a baseline of knowledge, if you question IT employees on their assumptions, they'll develop a deep appreciation for you.”
Also, remember that these technical geniuses can easily catch you out when you pretend to know something you don't, making you lose respect. Admitting your limitations and seeking to learn will break the barriers and get them to accept your authority.
Get to know them: Its easy to stereotype techies as difficult, but understanding them and their needs on a personal basis will make managing them much easier. For instance, technical people have a very ordered reasoning and cannot tolerate ambiguity. Therefore, it is advisable to be precise, specific and consistent in your interactions. They even value fairness and refuse to put up with managers who say one thing and do something else.
Also, try to grasp their shortcomings like poor communication and social skills, total absorption with work and deal with them accordingly.
Throw a challenge: Thriving on challenges, techies crave to solve tough crisis. Give them adequate problems to solve but note: Instead of ordering ‘fix this faulty report', try ‘We can't work out what's wrong with this report.
Can you help?' and they will soon be eating out of your hand!
No micromanagement: When describing the problem, ensure that you provide well-defined guidelines for the task (concrete data like numbers, graphs, tangibles and hard facts), expected quality, deadline and measurable goals. But even pointing out how to solve the issue will get you in troubled waters. Adopt a hands-off policy where you trust them to know better and give them the flexibility and freedom to chart their own path to the best solution.
Build smaller teams: Fostering a team environment is essential for IT work as it facilitates free flow of ideas and activities. But it has been found that big groups of techies face problems and are low on productivity. Restricting the team size with manageable projects will lead to faster and more efficient work.
In fact, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Novell advices, “No team should ever be larger than the largest conference room that is available for them to meet in”.
Find a leader: While all techies are brilliant at their work, there will be someone who can motivate the team, get the job done on time and deliver best results. Your job is to find this leader and appoint him the project manager so that he can serve as the liaison between you and the techies.
It often happens that top techies are promoted to managerial positions where they seem to flounder and drown ultimately. It is advisable to establish alternative technical paths and advance IT professionals on this motivating ladder rather than shifting them to management where they get stuck as terrible executives.
It is often said that techies are not as driven by monetary rewards, cushy perks and lavish stock options as the rest of the working population. It is important to understand what they really value like new software and hardware, latest tools, opportunity to work with top professionals and best projects. Provide appropriate learning and development opportunities as they value training above all else. Techies also crave credit for their accomplishments, making genuine praise and constructive feedback very good motivators.
Relate to business performance: IT workers and management face endless power struggles as business decisions often conflict with technical ones. Here, consulting techies for IT decisions and listening to everyone's ideas will not only lead to better decisions but also greater ‘buy-in' for the same.
This way the organisation can successfully align IT projects with business strategy while keeping IT employees focused on organisational goals. Moreover, involving techies is beneficial as they can point out management weaknesses as well as help them figure out which strategies to pursue, which innovations to invest in and which partnerships to form.
To sum up, IT workers need a supportive, logical and helpful manager who provides general and clear direction, which is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent. Treating these invaluable assets with respect, compassion and fairness will lead to loyal and engaged employees who never hesitate to contribute to overall organisational success.
In the words of a top IT manager, “If you know how to work with techies, they are the easiest kind of employees to motivate!”
Payal Chanania
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