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Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

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Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#201

Post by tokipin »

mifeng wrote: post #21
midgetjones wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did Elon Musk have a lot of experience in self-driving cars or space rockets before Tesla?

But if you listen to his interviews, it's clear the guy has a nuanced, clear understanding of the technology and business model behind both Tesla and SpaceX. He may not be able to do every job, but he can do the job of his direct reports. In contrast, there's the "professional manager" archetype, who Musk is definitely not.

obligatory Elon Musk SpaceX tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xahiWQQKw7Y

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#202

Post by losteverything »

_jgvg wrote: post #198
DashRattlesnake wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My hypothesis is that the MBA degree is largely valued by other people with MBA degrees, so you have pockets of high MBA concentration that grow within specific businesses. I have a friend who got a specialist business degree and then got an MBA. I don't really recall him ever really talking about what he studied or learned during the MBA, but he did talk a lot about networking. A lot of the program consisted of ta…

I have an undergrad in computer engineering, and an MBA from a top-10 or top-5 (depending who you ask) school. I learned a LOT from it, even though my experience after my undergrad degree was mostly in business. Businesses, finance markets are far more complex than people usually think, and if you like to learn, an MBA is a great way to build a solid base for being a product manager, or a director who actually unders…

Book please. Link please. More please.

Awesome reply.

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#203

Post by nunez »

Well, yeah.

It's not that they can do the work (they shouldn't), it's that they can better relate to the people they're leading. They know, for example, that asking engineers to complete an arbitrary development task in two weeks without regard to scope, value or other work is completely unreasonable. They've been there. Managers without that experience (or even knowledge of that experience) can never relate, so when their managers ask for a thing and ask that it be done in two weeks (because we're doing "Agile"), they'll more than likely pass the buck down.

But as long as businesses are run by professional C-executives that don't even understand the business they're managing, this will be a problem.

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#204

Post by nunez »

Well, yeah.

It's not that they can do the work (they shouldn't), it's that they can better relate to the people they're leading. They know, for example, that asking engineers to complete an arbitrary development task in two weeks without regard to scope, value or other work is completely unreasonable. They've been there. Managers without that experience (or even knowledge of that experience) can never relate, so when their managers ask for a thing and ask that it be done in two weeks (because we're doing "Agile"), they'll more than likely pass the buck down.

But as long as businesses are run by professional C-executives that don't even understand the business they're managing, this will be a problem.

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#205

Post by nunez »

sage76 wrote: post #110

At a unicorn I was working at, MBAs were being hired to be engineering managers. I did not see a single engineer promoted to management, it was mostly all MBAs. The few I had direct contact were really useless at helping engineers out, all I ever heard from them was "Just get it done.". If I asked for help, they'd say "Well who else is gonna do it then?". I felt demoralised and lost some of my confidence. But the com…

Sounds like a place run by people who owed a lot of favors

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#206

Post by nunez »

_jgvg wrote: post #198
DashRattlesnake wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My hypothesis is that the MBA degree is largely valued by other people with MBA degrees, so you have pockets of high MBA concentration that grow within specific businesses. I have a friend who got a specialist business degree and then got an MBA. I don't really recall him ever really talking about what he studied or learned during the MBA, but he did talk a lot about networking. A lot of the program consisted of ta…

I have an undergrad in computer engineering, and an MBA from a top-10 or top-5 (depending who you ask) school. I learned a LOT from it, even though my experience after my undergrad degree was mostly in business. Businesses, finance markets are far more complex than people usually think, and if you like to learn, an MBA is a great way to build a solid base for being a product manager, or a director who actually unders…

Can't these things be learned by reading?

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#207

Post by neutralid »

nunez wrote: post #206
_jgvg wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an undergrad in computer engineering, and an MBA from a top-10 or top-5 (depending who you ask) school. I learned a LOT from it, even though my experience after my undergrad degree was mostly in business. Businesses, finance markets are far more complex than people usually think, and if you like to learn, an MBA is a great way to build a solid base for being a product manager, or a director who actually unders…

Can't these things be learned by reading?

Micro-/macroeconomics and computer science (queueing theory) could cover most of the key items ... but people would need to understand the connections / generalizations / limitations. Perhaps MBAs make it obvious with case studies and in-class debates.

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#208

Post by wilsynet »

sage76 wrote: post #110

At a unicorn I was working at, MBAs were being hired to be engineering managers. I did not see a single engineer promoted to management, it was mostly all MBAs. The few I had direct contact were really useless at helping engineers out, all I ever heard from them was "Just get it done.". If I asked for help, they'd say "Well who else is gonna do it then?". I felt demoralised and lost some of my confidence. But the com…

In Silicon Valley it is rare that an engineering manager would have an MBA. And at Google or Facebook, they would more likely have a PhD than an MBA.

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#209

Post by vijucat »

acchow wrote: post #192
vijucat wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That you bring some core competencies to the table that are actionable [1]. That you can calc the ROI on data-driven paradigm shifts [1]. That you can ensure there are enough boots on the ground to manage customer expectations. That you can peel the onion on our go-to markets and incentivize monetizable synergies leading to win-win solutions [2]. That you have become an irreplaceable employee, that you're a girl who…

Comment of the year. Do you write?

Ha, thanks for inspiring me with your terse "What?" that made me laugh!

Re: Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

#210

Post by IndianAstronaut »

sage76 wrote: post #110

At a unicorn I was working at, MBAs were being hired to be engineering managers. I did not see a single engineer promoted to management, it was mostly all MBAs. The few I had direct contact were really useless at helping engineers out, all I ever heard from them was "Just get it done.". If I asked for help, they'd say "Well who else is gonna do it then?". I felt demoralised and lost some of my confidence. But the com…

I currently work under an MBA manager. It is very frustrating. Deadlines are unrealistic, micromanagement is the norm, and if things don't go according to their deadlines they threaten.
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