Learning to Manage IT workers

Bridging the Geek Gap in Your Business University of St. Francis School of Business

Our Learning Objectives
The challenge of technology
Why technology and technology workers matter
Understanding the differences between technology workers and business leaders
How to motivate technology workers

Why you need technology in your office.

Your challenge as a business person
Over the past three decades, the pace of technological change has increased.
Technological innovation remains one of the most important components of an organizations ability to compete in the marketplace.
Technology people are the ones who deliver innovation

In short…
Technology helps you do your job faster, better and cheaper than your competition.

The Dirty Little Secret of Technology
Projects fail
Projects go over budget
Difficult working with technology workers
Expectations of technology do not match the reality

The CHAOS Study Standish Group Survey, The Art of Lean Software Development December 2008

Turnover rates Courtesy of Gartner Research August 18, 2009

The bottom line
Your success as a business depends on providing innovation for your customers better than your competition.
The only way to do this is to find and retain technology workers who provide that innovation.

The people who provide innovation are the ones who give you a competitive edge.

Technology Trends
The Internet is still in its infancy
Everyone uses the internet
Wireless is going to be everywhere
Computing will move to the web. (cloud computing)
As technology gets more complex, it looks simpler.

Technology Worker = Geek The put down is not what it used to be and is a source of pride among the technology workers. Geeks are the knowledge workers who specialize in the creation, maintenance , or support of high technology. These are the people who will help you address these technology trends

What’s the big deal
Geeks are different from other workers
Geekwork, the intricate, technological knowledge geeks perform is different than other types of work.
Power, the basis of most approaches to leadership, is useless when dealing with geeks.

Courtesy of Paul Glen, Leading Geeks , 2003

The Bottom Line
Leading technology workers is going to be the biggest challenge of your career.

What makes technology workers different from business leaders

Two Tribes
Geeks
Suits
Solve Problems
Keeping systems working = success
Process focused
The Journey is more important
Sports are fun to play but not a metaphor for life.
Technology has a value & beauty all its own.
Influence others
Being likable = success
Product focused
The Destination counts
Sports are a metaphor for life especially team sports
Technology is a part of commerce

So…this leads to challenges
Geeks and Suits do not communicate well
Geeks and Suits don’t respect each other
Technology people and Business people don’t trust each other.

Exercises #1
What do you call your technologist in the office?
What are some of your complaints about your IT professionals.
When something breaks technologically do you fix it yourself or ask for help?

Why…understanding the Geek. Courtesy of Paul Glen, Leading Geeks , 2003

Geek Motivations
Reason
Puzzles, Problems and Curiosity
Geeks choose Machines over people
Intelligence is Worshiped
Swift and Merciless to Judge
My work is my Art
Loyalty to Technology and Profession
Strong Independent streak.

Exercises #2
Describe some of your interactions with your technology staff and do you notice some of these traits in them?
How can you use these motivations in your favor?
Can you understand why technology people consider what they do as artistic?

Characteristics of Geek work.
Failure is Normal.
Ambiguity Rules.
Figuring out what to do can be harder than doing it.
Geekwork is Organized by what you don’t know.
Deep concentration is required.
Estimates are always wrong.
Can’t control creativity.
Subordinates know more than managers.

The Bottom Line
Technology workers have a very different perspective on the world and that makes them a challenge to lead.
Your leadership style must accommodate these very different workers.

Leadership skills and approaches for technology workers.

Motivation of Geeks Courtesy of Paul Glen, Leading Geeks , 2003

How two tribes see things
Suits climb the corporate ladder to influence and inspire others.
Identify themselves where they work
Geeks climb the corporate ladder to have more responsibility and decision-making power and to have more control of their personal destinies.
Indentify themselves by their skills.

Internal Facilitation
Gathering information
Maintaining Alignment
Obtaining Resources
Managing Expectations
Projecting Prominence
Protecting Geeks
Insulating Geeks
Attracting Geeks

External Representation
You are the public face of the Information Technology team.
You must make sure Geek concerns are brought to the attention of your leadership.
Reinforce the contribution of IT to the firm.

Motivation of geeks
Select Wisely
Manage Meaning
Communicate Significance
Show a career path
Projectize
Encourage Isolation
Engender External competition.
Design interdependence
Limit group size.
Control Resource Availability
Provide food..intermittently

Don’t do this….
Exclude Geeks from Decision making
Be Inconsistent
Excessively monitor
Focus on tasks, not on goals
Perform Unqualified Evaluation
Use Artificial Deadlines
Change Deadlines
Have the organization ignore geeks.
Have Teams without the correct skills.

Management of Ambiguity
This is the most difficult thing to do as an IT leader.
Ambiguity is represented by a Pyramid.
Three levels from most general to most specific.

Environmental Ambiguity
You have to deal with the following questions
Who are we?
Why are we here?
How do we fit into and relate to the outside world
What is the significance of our work.
What are the ethical standards which we should be held.

Structural Ambiguity
You need to answer these questions.
What are we going to do?
How are we going to do it?
Project management is the key to dealing with Structural Ambiguity. If you can’t manage a project you are sunk.

Task Ambiguity
The capstone of the Ambiguity pyramid
Who are the characters in the story of a project?
Who plays each role?
How do you exercise the prerogatives of a geek leader?

Some final thoughts

What have we learned.
Innovation is required for business success.
Geeks provide innovation.
Geeks are different from other employees
Geeks require different leadership.

Final Thought
“ Somebody has to change things and isn’t it sad that we have to be the ones to do it.”
---Jerry Garcia

Learning to Manage IT workers

by edward1968

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