How do you manage a team of geeks? • Hacker News Board

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#11

Post by belthasar » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 1:54 PM UTC

jeremyx wrote: post #3

This article, (and many others), has a tone that some people ("geeks" in this case) are like another species of human origin that only the most skilled manager has learned to tame. According to this article, they hate bureaucracy, filling out time-sheets and want flexible working hours. I guess I'm a geek in need of special management. Who really believes this crap?

I hate labels like these.

Why can't I be a developer? Does the author have such endearing terms for people in sales or marketing?

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#12

Post by kds » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:00 PM UTC

Well, maybe the way Danny Ocean (George Cloony) manages his team in Ocean's Twelve (the movie) - tight team, clear plan, known desirable end-result, exact subtasks and timing, confidence in the experts' abilities (proven before).. A sense of common purpose, unity, and perhaps friendship helps also.

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#13

Post by dsr_ » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:08 PM UTC

kds wrote: post #12

Well, maybe the way Danny Ocean (George Cloony) manages his team in Ocean's Twelve (the movie) - tight team, clear plan, known desirable end-result, exact subtasks and timing, confidence in the experts' abilities (proven before).. A sense of common purpose, unity, and perhaps friendship helps also.

And having a scriptwriter who can ensure a great outcome for you, that's a definite plus.

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#14

Post by Lost_BiomedE » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:08 PM UTC

majelix wrote: post #10

UK-AL wrote: post #8

I hate this tone. Geeks want what everybody wants, respect, recognition, autonomy, progression, money. Its just that geeks are more likely to stand up to a manager (They respect ideas, and knowledge, not authority)if they don't like the way something is done, rather than be meek. Thus have a reputation for being difficult to control.

> Its just that geeks are more likely to stand up to a manager (They respect ideas, not authority) How much of this is inherit in "geeks" and how much is just because we're lucky enough to be in one of the strongest job markets around? Many people would be ecstatic to have the problem of recruiter spam.

I don't think it is the job market as much as personality types. I saw this consistently in bad markets, too.

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#15

Post by radicalbyte » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:08 PM UTC

Replace "geek" with "highly sought after, intelligent and talented employees" and you'll be closer to the truth.

The reason developers are "hard" to manage is that they're in demand, so they don't have to put up with bad or abusive management.

That said.. I'd recommend reading Team Geek (http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do) if you have any ambition to move into a management or leadership role.

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#16

Post by konradb » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:16 PM UTC

I have to say I'm not normally one to post here, and I dislike posting negatively, but this isn't a submission I've enjoyed.

We're all a bunch of human beings. People are complex and have varied fears, motivations, and delusions - and they act accordingly. Whatever role they play in a company.

Someone who has the role called 'manager' in an organisation who interacts with other people who have a role called 'developer' has the task of interacting with a bunch of human beings, and that is often difficult. It is made more difficult when they all decide it is in their interests to devote their time to creating something complex. That's a fine area about which we can talk about ways to improve.

However this 'geek' moniker, while all lighthearted, puts distance between people. It makes the article, to me, seem partly about the author (telegraphing the distance he puts between him and others in a relationship he possibly sees as being based around 'power') and partly about his message. I'll be happy if I've gone overboard in my interpretation though!

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#17

Post by seivan » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:24 PM UTC

radicalbyte wrote: post #15

Replace "geek" with "highly sought after, intelligent and talented employees" and you'll be closer to the truth. The reason developers are "hard" to manage is that they're in demand, so they don't have to put up with bad or abusive management. That said.. I'd recommend reading Team Geek ( http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do ) if you have any ambition to move into a management or leadership role.

Not a lot of intelligent and talented software engineers know about it, so they put up with that shit. I know I did.

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#18

Post by columbo » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:45 PM UTC

2009: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137708/Opinion_The_u...

1999: http://blog.calevans.com/nerd-herding/

1980: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Mp8rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S...

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#19

Post by himanshuchanda » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

majelix wrote: post #10

UK-AL wrote: post #8

I hate this tone. Geeks want what everybody wants, respect, recognition, autonomy, progression, money. Its just that geeks are more likely to stand up to a manager (They respect ideas, and knowledge, not authority)if they don't like the way something is done, rather than be meek. Thus have a reputation for being difficult to control.

> Its just that geeks are more likely to stand up to a manager (They respect ideas, not authority) How much of this is inherit in "geeks" and how much is just because we're lucky enough to be in one of the strongest job markets around? Many people would be ecstatic to have the problem of recruiter spam.

I guess its not about the job market. Geeks are more of creators and artists. They dont bother much of the hierarchies and luckily the hierarchies too dont have an issue because they deliver.

Its just that whose in more power. In the factory age it was the sales man. In the tech age its the geek

Re: How do you manage a team of geeks?

#20

Post by ksmiley » Thu, Jan 17, 2013, 3:02 PM UTC

I've been on the wrong end of #4 a couple of times. My boss' opinion of what is "interesting and really challenging" rarely coincides with my own opinion. By this criteria, "make me a Facebook" or "solve the bin packing problem in linear time" would be perfect tasks! And yet I can't imagine many developers jumping for joy when assigned to them.