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Dick is a bad manager

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Re: Dick is a bad manager

#51

Post by philwelch »

unexpected wrote: post #34
Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and no. No because you're clearly concerned about it so there is hope (Dick managers generally either don't care how they are or actively see it as a good thing), but yes because you seem not to trust them (you admit to wanting to know what they're doing). The nature of trust is not trusting them to get on with their work eight hours a day to a format you think appropriate, it's trusting them to deliver what's be…

I think it bothers me because they're probably the two least productive employees we have. I want to address this issue - the first step to me seems to be "well, what do they do all day?"

The issue isn't how they configure their workspace, it's their productivity. Assess their productivity from a black box perspective, don't even think about how their desks are arranged, that's not the issue, it's not even an issue.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#52

Post by philwelch »

tsuraan wrote: post #13
unexpected wrote: post #12

This is a related tangent that I'd like some input on: One of the characteristics of "bad management" that's shown here is Dick constantly hovering. At my company, we've arranged the cubicles so that they still offer privacy (walls are about 6 feet high), but that anyone walking by can see what's on the computer screen. Would you qualify this as hovering? We generally have no issues with casual gchatting, facebooking…

I'm not sure about that 45 degree guy, but for turning your cube so that you face out, that's sort of natural. For some people (me...) sitting with your back to a door or an area where people are generally walking is really uncomfortable. I don't like having people behind me without knowing they're there. It's not about slacking, it's just about comfort.

It's also a marker of personal respect and status. If you walk into someone's office, like a lawyer or a doctor or a professor, do you sneak up behind them? No. They're facing the door. The desk is between you and them. Behind them are bookshelves or a panoramic view of the local freeway or diplomas framed and mounted on the wall, and you're face to face. Even receptionists get this courtesy. It's comparatively kind of degrading to work in an environment where as soon as someone enters your workspace they're looking over your shoulder.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#53

Post by [deleted] »

unexpected wrote: post #12

This is a related tangent that I'd like some input on: One of the characteristics of "bad management" that's shown here is Dick constantly hovering. At my company, we've arranged the cubicles so that they still offer privacy (walls are about 6 feet high), but that anyone walking by can see what's on the computer screen. Would you qualify this as hovering? We generally have no issues with casual gchatting, facebooking…

[deleted]

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#54

Post by digitallogic »

martincmartin wrote: post #24
jakevoytko wrote: post #10

A Dick-style manager is a sign that you've already hired some B and C quality employees. Theoretically the only bad hire could be the manager, but I've never seen a company with just one sub-par employee. If people don't get work done, bad managers overreact. Terrible managers will also take the opportunity to overreact when everything is going smoothly. They check on tasks constantly. They run extra meetings so that…

I once worked at a company whose culture slogan was "by hackers, for hackers." They're renouned for hiring top-notch programmers, and they really do. Ironically, since hackers don't understand management, they tended to evaluate managers only on their technical skills, not (much) on their people or organizational skills. As an added bonus, the company was in a protected industry and their first product (created in st…

> "we're really successful, therefore we don't have any big problems or need to make any big changes."

That sounds almost the exact opposite of almost every decent hacker I've known.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#55

Post by gamble »

mfukar wrote: post #23
unexpected wrote: post #12

This is a related tangent that I'd like some input on: One of the characteristics of "bad management" that's shown here is Dick constantly hovering. At my company, we've arranged the cubicles so that they still offer privacy (walls are about 6 feet high), but that anyone walking by can see what's on the computer screen. Would you qualify this as hovering? We generally have no issues with casual gchatting, facebooking…

In the past, I've been working with a manager who shared, more or less, your style. The work environment was less formal, with no cubicles but desks which appeared crammed, but were similarly placed to allow the manager to snoop around with zero effort. Comfortable, but privacy was a no-no. I felt violated, for lack of a better word, in that environment. The reason was twofold. First, nobody can judge how productivel…

I've noticed that the more a manager behaves like that, the less likely it is that their own space is set up to put their back to the door.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#56

Post by imp »

lovskogen wrote: post #26
tsuraan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure about that 45 degree guy, but for turning your cube so that you face out, that's sort of natural. For some people (me...) sitting with your back to a door or an area where people are generally walking is really uncomfortable. I don't like having people behind me without knowing they're there. It's not about slacking, it's just about comfort.

I think it's a natural instinct even.

To protect against marauders ;)

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#57

Post by Tamerlin »

heathlilley wrote: post #4
devmonk wrote: post #2

Good post. The manager doesn't always have to fit that description totally to be a bad manager. As the post suggests, if people are saying "You should check with ____ before doing that," that probably indicates some micromanagement tendencies, which are just as demoralizing and counterproductive, even if the manager is otherwise well-loved as a person by some/all members of the team. Also, if a team member tells you:…

Also beware the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" types who always view system design and framework suggestions as general programmer whining and thus not worth investing any time. A lot of times this is true but prolonged adherence to this will leave you with a fairly antiquated technology stack.

These tend to be the same folks who deny that it's broken, leading to piles and piles of steaming code that make adding new features and fixing problems exceedingly difficult. They routinely turn simple, six-week projects into six-month death march projects.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#58

Post by TheSOB88 »

x0t wrote: post #36

From the comments: "There is a third kind of manager, who is typically a ‘nice guy’ who doesn’t have a problem with chicken suits or a bit of browsing or working time as long as the job gets done but micro-manages the crap out you stopping by every 15 minutes to see ‘how you’re getting on’, just like Dick. Micro-management sucks ass" I think the third kind of manager is almost worse than Dick. Micromanagement makes g…

Man up and talk to him about it if it's interrupting your productivity. I'm sure he cares about your productivity.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#59

Post by protomyth »

jbarham wrote: post #48
unexpected wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, we're okay with facebook/gchat/whatever. The rest of our employees are not engaged 100% of the time, and we're okay with that. This is not about spying on them, or making sure they have their nose to the grindstone for 8 straight hours. We have flexible hours, allow telecommuting, etc. From my perspective, it's a cultural thing - we have tried to foster a two-way culture of openness and communication. We have…

> What makes those two think they're special? Are they ex-military and therefore trained to react violently when people sneak up behind them? ;) EDIT: My ex-CEO tells a story of a former employee and Vietnam vet who warned him not to surprise him as his fighting reflexes might kick in, so it apparently can happen in real life.

It happens with victims of assault also. Some people really, really need their back to the wall and places that don't allow that affect their productivity / comfort level.

Re: Dick is a bad manager

#60

Post by protomyth »

duck wrote: post #8
edw519 wrote: post #6

He’ll assign a task, tell you exactly how you should do it, and then "stop by" repeatedly to check on progress. Let's not forget the rest of the story: Dick is not a dick by accident. He chooses this management style to keep his people on edge. Do you recognize any of these other things... 1. Dick will omit one or two critical considerations about the task that you have no way of knowing. You're expected to gain this…

11. You keep Outlook calendar up to date with all your meetings, but Dick will schedule his own (useless) meetings over them because he thinks he is that important. Dick will never keep his Outlook calendar up to date as that would allow you to know where he will be.

11b) Dick likes to show his supervisors how much work he does so he schedules meetings with his "team" at 7:30AM and 5:00PM, then takes a long lunch.
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