Leading Geeks: How to Manage and
Lead the People Who Deliver
Technology by Warren G. Bennis
Great For Helping Non-Technical Managers Understand Technical Teams
Leading Geeks challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership
methods are universal and gives executives and managers the
understanding they need to manage and lead the technologists on whom
they have become so dependent. This much-needed book— written in
nontechnical language by Paul Glen, a highly acclaimed management
consultant— gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant
yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. Glen not
only provides proven management strategies but also background on why
traditional approaches often dont work with geeks. Leading Geeks
describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the
unique nature of technical work. It also offers a unique twelve-part model
that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization.

Personal Review: Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the
People Who Deliver Technology by Warren G. Bennis
I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Glen's work and look forward to more like it in
the future. Glen does a great job of identifying what today's IT geeks are
like, giving its readers a window of opportunity to understand how to train,
manage and lead those with similar characteristics. According to the U.S.
Department of Labor and Statistics, the IT industry ranks as one of the
fastest-growing areas of job growth in the United States workforce,
projecting a growth rate between 40 to 60 percent by 2014. With these
projections, it is difficult to ignore the preparation that must take place to
prepare new geeks for the future. It becomes necessary to understand the
current trends of professionals in the IT industry to ensure that IT geeks
receive the continued training they need to remain marketable in a
competitive workforce.
Glen describes employees in IT occupations as follows:
[They] are the knowledge workers who specialize in the creation,
maintenance, or support of high technology. They have job titles like
programmer, product manager, project manager, quality assurance
engineer, system designer, system architect, program manager, technical
writer, help desk technician, deployment specialist, trainer, network
manager, web designer, database administrator, desktop support
technician, or telecommunications specialist. Some of them may carry
titles like chief information officer (CIO), chief knowledge officer (CKO),
chief technical officer (CTO), development director, operations manager,
and, on rare occasions, chief executive officer (CEO).
Many of these roles are typical IT positions, with the exception of the
following: project manager, product manager and program manager.
Many IT professionals in Microsoft, for example, have responsibilities
within the IT sector but work in the following areas: marketing, education,
and product development. In general, new roles and responsibilities are
emerging for the profession: evangelist, engagement manager, program
manager, marketing manager, solution architect, business analyst. With
heightened competition in a global economy, more professionals MUST
diversify their portfolio, including how they brand their image.
As these roles implies, "geeks" will include more than those Glen defines
as the "knowledge workers who specialize in the creation, maintenance, or
support of high technology", it will eventually encompass others fields. As
business needs redefine the future workforce, the fine lines of who these
knowledge workers are become blurred. Technology will continue to be
infused in our day-to-day business transactions, communication, and
being. Geeks will include your accountants, marketing professionals,
business professionals, educators, customer service specialist, managers,
and so on.

Overall, Glen challenges that leadership and management is situational,
requiring different approaches for different situations, settings, and people
involved. As geek roles fluctuate, those in management and leadership
roles overseeing this talent will need to focus on how to manage and
sharpen human capital, in this case, IT geeks, for maximized business
results.
For example, Glen proposes that geeks and their "geek work", require
managers to create harmony to help iron out ambiguities, representative of
many projects, regardless of field. Because high technology-related
projects often requires understanding of the business goals, customer
requirements (known and unknown customer requirements), and risks
involved, managers can serve as buffer zones to foster persistent
communication between geeks and the external world.
By focusing on the project goals and the "what" and "how", he emphasizes
the importance of defining clear requirements, helping geeks understand
the business environment, processes, and teamwork related to "geek
work".
I highly recommend this book to managers and project team leads
responsible for overseeing individuals working on computer technology-
related projects, clients, and/or customers.
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