Is There Really a Secret to Managing Geeks?
Noting that you really have to be leery of any article professing to offer “the real truth” about anything, this CIO.com piece, “The Unspoken Truth About Managing Geeks,” offers some valuable advice.
You know the stereotypes: They’re egocentric, antisocial, managerially and business-challenged, yada, yada, yada. In fact, as IT Business Edge’s Ann All has written, people in this profession might actually be wired differently.
In the CIO.com article, author Jeff Ello says it’s all about respect — both given and received — and to some degree disdain for stupidity — usually that of other people. You’ll still be skeptical, though, of his assertion that once you understand geeks, working with them is “the easiest job in the world.”
But he writes:
IT pros always and without fail, quietly self-organize around those who make the work easier, while shunning those who make the work harder, independent of the organizational chart. …
The stakes may be higher in medicine, but the work in both fields requires a technical expertise that can’t be faked and a proficiency that can only be measured by qualified peers. I think every good IT pro on the planet idolizes Dr. House (minus the addictions).
While everyone would like to work for a nice person who is always right, IT pros will prefer a jerk who is always right over a nice person who is always wrong. Wrong creates unnecessary work, impossible situations and major failures. … Capacity for technical reasoning trumps all other professional factors, period.
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