Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology(10 J-B Warren Bennis Series)

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.

Table of Contents:
Editor’s Note xi Warren Bennis Foreword xiii David H. Maister Introduction xv Acknowledgments xxi Overview: The Challenge of Geeks 1 1. Geeks, Leadership, and Geek Leadership 3 Part One: The Context of Geek Leadership 19 2. The Essential Geek 27 3. Groups of Geeks 44 4. The Nature of Geekwork 57 5. Performing Geekwork 74 Part Two: The Content of Geek Leadership 97 6. Nurturing Motivation 103 7. Providing Internal Facilitation 122 8. Furnishing External Representation 142 9. Managing Ambiguity 158 10. Selecting and Organizing Geekwork 179 11. Uniting Geeks and Geekwork 197 Conclusion: Harmonizing Context and Content 219 12. How Geek Leaders Lead 221 Appendix: Models and Lists 235 Notes 241 References 243 The Author 247 Index 249

About the Author :
PAUL GLEN is a management consultant who helps clients build effective technology organizations. For more than fifteen years he has advised clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the MBA programs at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and Loyola Marymount University. Prior to founding C2 Consulting, he was western regional manager for SEI Information Technology, a national IT consultancy. And, yes, he is a geek.

Review :
Technology has so clearly woven itself into the fabric of business culture that publishing Glen's book on how to manage the people who produce high tech makes perfect sense. The author, founder of a consulting firm specializing in IT organizations, assumes that "geeks" are not everyday people, and draws on his experience to present clear and simple techniques for employers to not just get what they need out of tech workers but to become the kind of managers who will mesh well with this new kind of employee. Glen's insight is to treat high technology as a creative product produced by temperamental people who are a cross between artists and professionals. This view stems from the ambiguity of "geekwork" and the fact that geeks usually know more about what they do than do their managers. Though Glen doesn't advocate turning the factories over to the workers, his aim is to make managers more effective by teaching them about the people they lead, not by giving them tools to bend employees to their will. He does an excellent job of enumerating geek characteristics and the context in which geekwork takes place, providing ample material on what works with geeks and what doesn't, such as "intrinsic" or "extrinsic" motivators, and valuable advice, like "never underestimate the power of free food." Though it doesn't contain much new material, Glen's easily readable book will prove exceptionally useful for managers who feel left behind by the pace of technology or bosses seeking to better understand their information age employees. (Nov.) (Publishers Weekly, October 21, 2002) "Winner of the 2003 Financial Times Germany and getAbstract Award for best book on business leadership"