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All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

terriblesoftware.org

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Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#71

Post by zac23or »

Before my first job, I read many of these types of texts. When I entered the job market, I saw that the truth was very different. This is pure nonsense.

In my 26 years of experience, I see managers and HR professionals as company advocates, with a single mission: to protect the company's interests.

Whether managers admit mistakes or not is irrelevant; what matters is that they defend the company's interests, no matter the cost.

Mistakes are passed on to the people who can do the heavy lifting, and they respond with dismissal or legal retaliation (when possible).

Your HR exit interview is designed to find out if you harbor resentment toward the company and if there's a chance the company will be sued.

I've tried every imaginable technique I've read in modern books. Politics are more important than anything, and nothing works.

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#73

Post by a3w »

selecsosi wrote: post #15

IME the gap in management between ICs is accountability. It's easy to say you are sorry, or say things won't happen again but good management, and what I strive to do is hold myself accountable. To me, that means 1. To identify the issue that occurred (especially when you caused it), and much more importantly, 2. Put systems into place that prevent it from happening again. Employees can feel very clearly when a manag…

Will a manager that acknowledges his/her/their mistakes get promoted as frequently, as if when downplaying them?

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#74

Post by Esophagus4 »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #7

I think this goes for Engineers as well. In fact, I say the biggest skill I want from a SENIOR developer regardless of years of experience is humility. Someone who "cannot do wrong" and is a toxic about it will poison the rest of the team with their toxicity. But the seniors who are more open to feedback even from Junior developers, those are the ones everyone else follows to hell and back because they're there with…

Well said - most people don’t realize there is a lot of overlap between good management skills and good senior engineering skills.

Specifically, getting people to follow your direction, giving and receiving difficult feedback, growing people, being able to engage thoughtfully in stressful conversations…

Engineers that don’t have these and believe their technical chops are the only thing that matters are extremely limited in their careers.

I have bounced a technically excellent staff level engineer off my team for this reason.

There are very few roles in tech for people to sit in a corner by themselves and write code, especially as you get to more senior roles.

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#75

Post by ducttapecrown »

a3w wrote: post #73
selecsosi wrote: post #15

IME the gap in management between ICs is accountability. It's easy to say you are sorry, or say things won't happen again but good management, and what I strive to do is hold myself accountable. To me, that means 1. To identify the issue that occurred (especially when you caused it), and much more importantly, 2. Put systems into place that prevent it from happening again. Employees can feel very clearly when a manag…

Will a manager that acknowledges his/her/their mistakes get promoted as frequently, as if when downplaying them?

Depends on if the managers above them are accountable or not. Accountability is the opposite of corruption and both need to come from the top.

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#77

Post by ducttapecrown »

euroderf wrote: post #68
n4r9 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That, and be careful to avoid a "box-ticking" culture where people rely on systems over independent thought. Also a hard balance.

Mere "box-ticking" in the form of checklists have been shown to greatly cut deaths in clinical/hospital settings. This may or may not apply to your systems.

Doctors would implement self-healing and abolish checklists if they could! Be glad if you don't need a checklist.

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#78

Post by reactordev »

The best managers I ever had were the ones they flat out said "I'm not an expert, what do you think?" or akin to. Being humble is such a skill. Those managers ended up building huge, amazingly successful teams. The managers that did it their way ended up failing up but at the expense of the team. Everyone who works with them is let go or fired or jumps ship.

Great managers are able to touch on our humanity, which should inspire us all to rise up to meet them.

Re: All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair

#80

Post by Loughla »

a3w wrote: post #73
selecsosi wrote: post #15

IME the gap in management between ICs is accountability. It's easy to say you are sorry, or say things won't happen again but good management, and what I strive to do is hold myself accountable. To me, that means 1. To identify the issue that occurred (especially when you caused it), and much more importantly, 2. Put systems into place that prevent it from happening again. Employees can feel very clearly when a manag…

Will a manager that acknowledges his/her/their mistakes get promoted as frequently, as if when downplaying them?

My experience is that managers who acknowledge their mistakes are worse at office politics, so they will reach their peak sooner and lower than those that do not admit fault.

but that's anectdata, so grain of salt and all.

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