Silicon Valley Managers and HR / OD professionals are as knowledgeable as anyone about working with highly analytical, technology-centered organizations. Technical teams need care and feeding to work well under the pressure of accelerating demands. At the same time, their members are not always receptive to efforts to engage them, impart leadership skills, or embed a customer-focused culture.

1. Meeting the Challenge of
Change in Geek-Oriented
Companies
with
Lucy Freedman

2. Welcome
Goal:
Increase our ability to add value in
high-tech workplaces by better
understanding their world and
engaging them where they are

3. Geeks 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, Web developer….
CIO, CKO, CTO….”

4. Why Is This Important?
• Economic engine
• They can really benefit
• It’s time to remove the firewall (if
there is one)

5. Missed Opportunities
• Executive role modeling
• Process improvement
• Product quality
• Retention of top talent
• Reputation with customers

6. It’s Hard to Watch This…

7. Agenda
• What changes deliver the most value?
• Setting the stage
• Do’s and don’t’s
• The SYNTAX approach
• Insights and motivators
• Clever hacks

8. Setting the Stage

9. OD and High Tech
• Parallel growth over half a century
• Culture gap
• Transformative technologies
• Corporations ARE people
• Huge upside potential for partnering

10. Purpose of OD /
Leadership Development /
Change Initiatives
• Increase profitability
• Adapt to new conditions
• Enhance culture
• Increase efficiency
• Manage crisis

11. OD Interventions
• Consulting Skills
• Negotiation Training
• Meeting Format
• Process Improvement

12. High Tech Workplaces
• Growing population
• Nature of the work

14. High Tech Workplaces
• Growing population
• Nature of the work
• Geek factor

15. Geek Factor
• Geek work is head work
• Relies on discretionary effort
• High need for collaboration
• Over- and under-assertive styles
• Low interest in leadership

16. Need for Collaboration
“Sharing knowledge actually takes a huge
amount of communication and
documentation. This can be a problem for
people who both by personality and the
demands of focusing on mental work
have to isolate somewhat.”
--from Team Geek, by Brian Fitzpatrick
and
Ben Collins-Sussman

17. Don’ts
• Don’t force participation
• Don’t target individuals to fix
• Don’t assume that geeks
are aware of their impact
• Don’t disrupt cultures that
are working

18. Do’s
• Provide clear structure
• Use data
• Help hack the system
• Respect work flows
• Recognize emotional risks
• Apply good design

19. Good Design
• Mostly invisible
• Guides behavior
• Supports business strategy
• Elegant
• Meets people where they are

20. SYNTAX = Structure
• Dovetails with culture and
business needs
• Has immediately observable
impact
• Feeds into multiple application
programs
• Covers full spectrum of styles

21. SYNTAX of INFLUENCE

22. SYNTAX: PLAN
• Aim frame
• Goal questions

23. SYNTAX: LINK
• Establish rapport
• Keep communication
open

24. SYNTAX: BALANCE
• Make clear, complete
requests and agreements
• Follow up

25. SYNTAX: INFORM
• Gather information from
their map
• Use what and how
questions

26. SYNTAX: LEARN
• Solicit and give feedback
• Try something new

27. Smart Work
The Syntax Guide to Influence
Second Edition

28. Addressing the Challenge
• Facilitate, not impede
• Seed interest
• Allow low profile participation
• Use multiple platforms
• Be irreverent
• Rinse and repeat

29. Idea Exchange
What have we learned?
Insights that are helpful for
consulting in high-tech
organizations

30. Idea Exchange
What do they want?
Motivators for high-tech employees
to engage in organizational or
leadership development

31. Creative Interventions
• Two leaders: TL and TLM

32. Creative Interventions
• Two leaders: TL and TLM
• Develop tribe-to-tribe links

33. Creative Interventions
• Two leaders: TL and TLM
• Develop tribe-to-tribe links
• No-meetings Thursdays

34. Creative Interventions
• Two leaders: TL and TLM
• Develop tribe-to-tribe links
• No-meetings Thursdays
• Design interdependence

35. Creative Interventions
• Two leaders: TL and TLM
• Develop tribe-to-tribe links
• No-meetings Thursdays
• Design interdependence
• Bring food – intermittently!
With thanks to Brian Fitzpatrick, Ben Collins-
Sussman, Paul Glen, Dave Logan

36. Change Readiness Factors
• Valid business case for change
• Linkage between HR/OD and
technical departments
• Rumblings beneath the surface
• Opening to ask for help
• Ability to meet immediate need
within change framework

37. More Ideas
• Change Readiness Assessment
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BL8B8KV
• Successful Change Strategy
Session
• Team Geek
• Leading Geeks
• Smart Work
• SYNTAX Messenger (e-zine)