Showing posts with label managing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label managing. Show all posts
Sunday, July 29, 2018
What do you do when a kid beats your solution?
We were asked, "Has a software engineering interviewee ever come up with a better solution than the expected best answer?"
The question told me that the one who posed it hadn't done many interviews. As an interviewee, I did this often, though it was often met with defensiveness from the interviewer.
As an interviewer, it happens to me all the time, and I've tried awfully hard not to be defensive as I'd seen so many interviewers become.
Once on the job, too, software engineers frequently come up with better answers than their managers, teammates, or team leaders knew and expected. Or, I must admit, better than their consultants.
When this happens in any of these situations, it's important for the interviewer, manager, team leader, teammate, or consultant to accept the answer graciously, thanking the person for teaching them something new.
Even if the new idea isn't "better," if it's new, it's an opportunity to learn, so you don't want to spend your efforts trashing the idea. Just take in into your mind and offer thanks.
When I was a little boy, my father challenged me to learn something new every day before allowing myself to go to bed. Learning new things all the time is perhaps the most important behavior in my life. It's certainly the most important behavior in our profession
Generally, the most powerful learning occurs when someone produces a better solution than you had imagined. If your ego cannot deal with “better” or even “different” solutions to problems you pose, you have no business being in a leadership position in software engineering.
Or maybe anywhere.
Labels:
consulting,
feedback,
ideas,
interviewing,
leadership,
learning,
listening,
managing,
problem solving,
teams
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Some Advice on Advice
I was asked, "I'm very bad at taking my own advice but love helping people with their own personal issues. Does that make me a hypocrite?"
You seem to equate “advice” with helping people, but there are many other ways to help people without offering advice. And, of course quite frequently, even the best advice doesn't help at all.
(Note that I wrote “offering,” not “giving.” You offer, but they need not accept. Nor do you have to accept your own advice. You test it in your mind, or with small actions, and either follow or not, depending on the test’s outcome.)
If you like helping, try asking people what kind (if any) help they want from you. Perhaps they merely want a friendly listener. Or a pat on the back. Or a kick in the rear. Maybe they want you to clean their house. Or carry their heavy package. Maybe they just want a smile.
Stop worrying about labels like “hypocrite,” and start seeking ways to help people the way they want to be helped. Forget the advice business. As Ambrose Bierce says in The Devil’s Dictionary, “Advice is the smallest common coin.”
Labels:
advice,
consulting,
feedback,
helping,
leadership,
listening,
managing,
problem solving,
relationships,
teaching
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Stumbles for New Leaders and Managers
We were asked, "What were your greatest stumbling blocks as a new manager?"
Paige’s article is a terrific introduction to this subject.
These are the four rookie manager mistakes described in the article:
Rookie mistake #1: Creating a blanket policy for one bad apple
Rookie mistake #2: Embracing the mantra, “do as I say, not as I do”
Rookie mistake #3: Fixing things that aren’t really broken
Rookie mistake #4: Not taking an interest in your employees’ futures
In my career, I’ve made all four of those mistakes, and lots of others. But the one I most remember, and most regret, is micromanaging.
Somehow, I couldn’t believe that other people could solve problems as effectively as I (thought I) could. My mantra was something like “for your own good,” or “for the organization’s good.”
It took me far too long to learn that other people’s solutions were simply other solutions than mine. Some might be worse than mine. Some might even be better. But most of all, they usually solved whatever problems we were dealing with. There was no need for me to push in with my approach.
I’ve gradually learned to reduce this micromanaging behavior. (I’ve never learned to stop completely.) As I’ve succeeded, I’ve noticed:
* people learn faster when allowed to make their own mistakes
* people listen to me more attentively on those few occasions when I do intervene
* I have more time for doing my own job
I strongly suggest that you loosen your grip on your own ideas and allow your employees and co-workers to implement theirs.
Labels:
consulting,
failure,
incompetence,
leadership,
management,
managers,
managing,
micromanagement
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Leaders: Smart-but-evil versus Dull-but-good?
Who's better in a leadership position, a smart but evil person or an unintelligent but good person?
There are different kinds of unintelligent people. For one thing, some not-so-smart folks know they’re not so smart and have learned some simple tactics to cope with their inadequate intelligence.
For instance, in managing software, such managers will refrain from micromanaging their programmers, whereas the smart-evil person is quite likely to interfere with the development and testing work.
What you want in a manager is a person who knows how and when to delegate, understands their own limitations, and cares about improving the environment for all the people on the staff. You don’t have to be all that smart to do that.
But if you are an evil person, your intelligence may be serving the wrong master. It may happen that your intelligent moves help your employees, but that’s not what you’re attempting to do, so it’s hit or miss.
Labels:
incompetence,
leadership,
managers,
managing,
micromanagement
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
How Does One Manage an Incompetent Manager?
How Does One Manage an Incompetent Manager?
The questioner does not say whether the manager's is their boss or employee, but I'll answer assuming they're the employee. If they're the boss, they should manage the same way they would manage any of their employees who is not competent to do the job they're paid for.
This is not just one question because there are quite a few different breeds of incompetent managers. To take just two examples, some are incompetent because they don’t interact with their employees at all, while others micromanage with a vengeance. It seems clear that you’d want to handle each situation in its own unique way.
If your manager is invisible, leaving you alone, just be thankful and go about your business. Believe me, you’re lucky.
For me, the first step in managing a micro-manager is to leave. Find another job, with different manager. A better one.
As for other managerial symptoms of incompetence, you can try working with the manager as one person to another, but realize that this amounts to taking on a second job. If you’re not a a trained psychologist, you might be better just leaving this one alone.
But if you decide you have the skills to manage your manager, do it the way a competent manager would. That is, concentrate on the question, “How is this manager interfering with the work we are being paid to do?” If their incompetence isn’t interfering in a significant way, maybe offer a bit of feedback, but only once, and then get on with your paying job.
In many cases, someone you perceive as incompetent can be a lot easier to live with than to fix. They may not even be as incompetent as you believe.
But if you're seeking advice on a particular pattern of incompetence, write me a note or comment. I will try to help you with specific actions to take.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re neither this manager’s boss or employee, then it’s none of your business, so just leave it alone. There are more incompetent managers in the world than you can possibly cure.
Here's a couple of books you might find helpful:
Labels:
art of change,
change,
incompetence,
leadership,
management,
managers,
managing
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Guaranteeing a Consulant's Future
I'm frequently asked, "What is the best thing a consultant can do to guarantee his or her future?"
Start by recognizing that there's no way to guarantee anything about the future. If a giant asteroid hits the earth, I doubt that many consultants will survive.
A giant asteroid may be unlikely, but, for example, a giant world-wide Depression is a possibility we've already experienced more than once.
"What about joining one of the large, established consulting firms?"
Yes, there's a certain stability in an established firm, but nothing guaranteed. Lots of consultants get themselves fired from such firms, and the firms themselves sometime fold.
The same dangers apply to founding your own firm. There's some safety in numbers, but no guarantees. By and large, you have to take care of your own future for yourself. There's a few strong things any consultant can do to help ensure their future, but again, nothing is guaranteed.
Definitely save your money. Although you cannot absolutely guarantee anybody’s future, having financial resources will come as close as anybody can come.
Money in the bank will even guarantee your present—protecting you from the temptation to take the kind of unwholesome assignments that kill a consulting practice.
However, there’s one thing even more important than money. Health. Make it your first priority to do whatever you need to do to remain healthy.
Think of it this way: You are the number one tool of your consulting business, so never compromise your health for your business. You cannot receive a second body to replace the one you were given, so take care.
Labels:
business,
consulting,
failure,
managing,
predicting,
success
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Programmers, Testers, & Dogs
Danny Faught wrote to Dani Weinberg:
Of course, I believe you that you're using very similar techniques in both of your endeavors: dog training and management consulting. I can also see that both the work with IT people and dog people focuses on problem-solving.
I've heard that basic dog training is actually more about people training - teaching people how to successfully interact with their dogs. Is that also true of your dog behavioral work?
Can you give an example of how your work in one area informed your approach in the other?
Weinberg and Weinberg works with people who do IT by problem-solving. Dogs and Their People works with people who have dogs by problem-solving. I use the same skills—and many more (just as Jerry does)—and the same basic principles.
You might now know this. As a dog behavior consultant, I do not teach people how to train their dogs to sit, down, stay, heel, etc. I work with behavior issues, most of them quite serious, that cannot be resolved that simply. In fact, many of my clients' dogs already have some basic skills.
What I do is essentially the same thing I used to do when I worked with Jerry consulting in organizations.
Jerry replied:
It's the same in my consulting. Years ago, I taught people how to write code and test programs. That kind of consulting evolved into consulting on "behavior issues, most of them quite serious." In fact, most of my clients' employees already have the basic skills of programming and testing.
Take a look at the Table of Contents—the titles of the chapters—in The Secrets of Consulting . They describe exactly what I do in my dog-behavior consulting. Yes, it's heavily focused on the owner. I know much more about dog behavior—how to "read" and "listen to" the dog. So what I have to do is a kind of translator or interpreter process for the owner. Some of it is me doing with the dog what I recommend to the owner, allowing the owner not only to see the demonstration but also appreciate the results.
Here's a very simple example. The dog is black Standard Poodle, about 6 months old—a "teenager." The owner is a psychologist who has had many dogs in the past. The problem she hired me to help with is that the dog is constantly jumping on people. I go to the house and experience this behavior myself.
Jerry:
This type of problem is similar to a manager who complains that an employee is constantly interrupting him with all sorts of trival questions and comments.
Dani:
Turns out the dog has been taught to sit on cue. I give the cue, the dog sits quickly, and I give a high-value treat (turkey). Whenever the dog looks like she's thinking about jumping again (pure excitement and joie de vivre), I cue "Sit" again and repeat the process. In no time (like after 3 or 4 of these cued Sits), she approaches me and offers a Sit, not cued by me. I repeat the treat. She spends most of the remaining hour doing this, over and over again. The owner is delighted! Then the owner herself tries it, with coaching from me - and it works for her too.
We have taught the dog that this behavior (sitting) is rewarded heavily, whereas jumping evokes me turning my back on her. Dogs are pretty smart and realize where their advantage lies!
Jerry:
Not all programmers are as smart as dogs, but most of them are smart enough to recognize when their manager ignores them when they interrupt. Eventually, they learn to sit down and perhaps raise their hand when they have something to say—if their manager rewards their behavior by recognizing their need. You don't have to give them turkey treats. "Recognition" is their high-value reward. If the manager responds to interruptions by telling them "don't interrupt," that's still a form of recognition, and teaches the employee to keep interrupting.
Labels:
dog training,
dogs,
managers,
managing,
programmers,
testers
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