Understanding How to Manage Geeks

The unspoken truth about managing geeks [the broken link was removed] by Jeff Ello

The article makes very good points. As I have said before software developers expect more of management than most staff do. And I would say software developers are seen as more cynical than most staff because they accurately evaluate management’s failures (and are more willing to speak up about problems).

Pretending software bugs don’t exist doesn’t work. Pretending management bugs don’t exist doesn’t work either, but most are willing to pretend management bugs don’t exit. Programmers often figure bugs should be acknowledged and dealt with, rather than pretending they don’t exist. But they are called cynical when they mention management bugs – which only makes them less confident in the ability of management to preform their responsibilities.

There will also be some who are cynical by any measure, but often what is seen as cynical is instead a good prediction of the likely result. The way to fix this cynical attitude is to succeed in management improvement not hope people fail to accurate assess the likely results based on the available evidence.

I was sent this quote yesterday by my friend, Dave Nave: “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” George Bernard Shaw (attributed)

Related: Explaining Managers to Programmers – Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Leave in IT – What Motivates Programmers? – Respect for People – Understanding Psychology – Dell, Reddit and Customer Focus