Leading Geeks : How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology

Winner of the 2003 Financial Times Germany/getAbstract Business & Finance Book Award Leading Geeks challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership methods are universal and gives executives and managers the understanding they need to manage and lead the technologists on whom they have become so dependent. This much-needed book? written in nontechnical language by Paul Glen, a highly acclaimed management consultant? gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. Glen not only provides proven management strategies but also background on why traditional approaches often don't work with geeks. Leading Geeks describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the unique nature of technical work. It also offers a unique twelve-part model that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization. In today's business climate, technology drives productivity and competitiveness and "geeks" drive technology. More than ever Geeks-those people who research, develop, design, build, test, install, and support technology-are a critical factor in every organization's success. Leading Geeks challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership methods are universal and gives executives and managers the understanding they need to manage and lead the technologists upon whom they have become so dependent. This much-needed book-written in non-technical language by Paul Glen a highly acclaimed management consultant-gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. Glen not only provides proven management strategies but also background on why traditional approaches often don't work with geeks. Leading Geeks describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the unique nature of technical work. It also offers a unique twelve part model that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization. Leading Geeks clarifies the responsibilities and tasks of the geek leader and contrasts them with conventional approaches to leadership. Glen also shows you how to:

• Motivate geeks to be productive
• Facilitate productivity within technical groups
• Represent geeks to the world outside the lab and cubicle
• Manage ambiguity to create an environment in which geeks and leaders thrive
• Structure groups of geeks to support an organization

Leading Geeks gives managers the tools they need to transform the chaos of the creative workplace into a coherent and compelling place for geeks to work. Leading Geeks......Page 7 Contents......Page 11 Editor’s Note, Warren Bennis......Page 13 Foreword, David H. Maister......Page 15 Introduction......Page 17 Acknowledgments......Page 23 Overview: The Challenge of Geeks......Page 27 1. Geeks, Leadership, and Geek Leadership......Page 29 Part One: The Context of Geek Leadership......Page 45 2. The Essential Geek......Page 53 3. Groups of Geeks......Page 70 4. The Nature of Geekwork......Page 83 5. Performing Geekwork......Page 100 Part Two: The Content of Geek Leadership......Page 123 6. Nurturing Motivation......Page 129 7. Providing Internal Facilitation......Page 148 8. Furnishing External Representation......Page 168 9. Managing Ambiguity......Page 184 10. Selecting and Organizing Geekwork......Page 205 11. Uniting Geeks and Geekwork......Page 223 Conclusion: Harmonizing Context and Content......Page 245 12. How Geek Leaders Lead......Page 247 Appendix: Models and Lists......Page 261 Notes......Page 267 References......Page 269 The Author......Page 273 Index......Page 275 The people who research, develop, design, build, test, install, and support technology are a critical factor in every organization's success. This book gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. It not only provides proven management strategies but also background on why traditional approaches often don't work with geeks. It describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the unique nature of technical work Describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the nature of technical work. This book also offers a twelve-part model that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization. If your company's product is high tech, you'll find them in product development, research.