OmniTraining

Managers: Get Your Point Across to Techies

Why is managing technical people difficult? Some would say that techies are socially inept, and simply can't communicate well. While that may be true in some cases, that fact doesn't help managers deal with techies any better; it serves as a scapegoat. Here are some helpful hints for dealing with technical employees.

There are two main pieces of advice I can give. First, managers must be open, honest, blunt, and candid with their subordinates. People, especially technical people, want to know what's going on. They also want to know that they're being given accurate information. Second, managers must be humble. There's nothing worse than a manager that pretends to know something—techies immediately see right through the falsehood.

The first point covers a wide variety of topics. The first premise can be broken into two parts. Open and honest, and to a certain extent bluntness, mostly refers to dissemination of information. Management should be honest about what's happening in the company, and they should feel comfortable sharing the real reasons behind a decision. Everything from organizational changes to the company's financial standing is important and relevant information for all employees. In the IT world, people are frequently asked to implement some vague technology for no real reason at all. Other than the fact that someone requested it, without really knowing what it is.

When the technical staff is given information about the real reasons behind some change, they can often provide valuable insight. Assuming someone is willing to listen. More than listen, actually, the manager needs to be able to parse the argument for what it's worth. In the situation where IT staff are simply complaining about having to implement something new, their arguments against the change will likely be 90% complaint and 10% valid arguments. An effective manager ignores the complaints and ponders the valid points, as opposed to getting upset and simply saying "because we told you to."

The second part of the first point claims that bluntness and candid discussions are beneficial. In many situations this is true, but most importantly: performance reviews. There's nothing worse than having to "lay off" and employee when the employee had no idea that his performance was sub-par.

When someone makes a mistake, alienate him. Make it known that the particular action is unacceptable. Conversely, when someone does something well, parade that fact around the office as if president just got impeached. Employees who know exactly where they stand are able to either correct their actions, or settle into their rut, realizing they'll never be promoted. When it comes time to let the latter ones go there's really no hard feeling at all.

Finally the second point: managers must be humble. This goes far beyond simply admitting when you don't know something. Being an effective manager sometimes means playing dumb.

It is almost unbelievable how much friction a manager who pretends to know technical details can cause. During a secret project a few years back, where an outsider was forced to work within my group, it became clear very early on that the outsider didn't know what we were doing. Instead of admitting it, she attended every meeting and pretended to a productive member. In the end, when it came time for reviews, everyone called her out for claiming to contribute equally. When it was all said and done, she said, "I've heard stories about dealing with techies before, but I didn't think they were really true."

The stories are all true. Technical people will be hell to work with if you undermine their hard work and years of study by making uninformed decisions or by claiming to know something better than them. Have you ever noticed experienced managers asking their employees to explain something that you thought the manager already knew? There's a reason for that.

When an employee is forced to explain the way something works, they often come to strange realizations during the discussion. Putting a plan into words, so that someone less technical can understand it, forces the implementer to think about it from many new angles. This works much the same way that writing a speech doesn't prepare you nearly as well as practicing it out loud.

So how does asking someone to explain what they're doing translate into "playing dumb?" Well if they already assume you know something, they will skip the gory details. The details are what truly matter, though.

It may seem counterintuitive to think that technical people want to talk to a manager who doesn't know much. Employees may even seem to get annoyed when they have to explain things. This is where your technical skill can sneak in and cause something wonderful to happen. Often, the techie won't realize the err of his way, and you can easily point it out after he's described the plan. It doesn't even take much preexisting technical knowledge, just the ability to, um, manage. Technical staff certainly won't think less of their manager for asking tons of questions—they actually enjoy teaching, most of the time.

Realize that the technical staff have put years of work into developing their skills, and they really can't imagine that any manager has done the same. They seek continual improvement and refinement of their skills, so much so that they'd probably be just as happy with a raise as with an all-expense paid trip to a conference.

The moral of the story is to simply treat technical people the same as you'd treat everyone else. They will however respond better to certain styles of management, and they will never respond well to a manager who claims to know more than they really do. A thick skin and strong attitude is required to deal with technical staff effectively, but once you understand what makes them tick, a whole new level of efficiency can be obtained.