by Paul Glen, David H. Maister, Warren G. Bennis
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Product Description
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.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Great addition for your inbox., 2008-01-21
This book was recommended to me by the deputy CIO of a major Boston hospital. I feel it is a must-read for non-geeks who are leading geeks. In contrast, I am a geek who leads geeks and I have found the "Content of Geek Leadership" model to be correct. I use it. While it was not a moment of epiphany when I read it, anything that tells you that you're on the right track is a good thing. Put it in your inbox.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Not recommended. , 2008-01-06
I really regret wasting my money on this book. I picked it up because I had heard some good things about it.
To be charitable, I believe that the book is intended for the new and non-technical manager who suddenly has an increased technology presence in his or her team or who has changed roles and now has reports in the IT or development departments. While the author does make some valuable points, they seem to me fairly standard to management in general. It is perhaps useful to separate out the IT folks for people who already perceive technology as a no-go domain. It was not terribly useful for me.
Much is made of points such as that a "Geek" might know more about their manager about technology issues. Again, what is different about that? Management is its own discipline and field. I think in every department, the coworkers will have specializations of which the manager only has superficial knowledge. That is the nature of the work. While it is true that technology provokes a fear response in people that may make that normal and natural gulf feel huge, I am not sure that Glen does his potential readers any good by exaggerating the difference.
In general, I found something a little bit icky in the way that Glen tries to make "Geeks" out as a separate species of coworker. Leaving aside whether it is ever really appropriate to categorize like that (marketing jokes anyone?) I think that it is actually promoting or heightening a perception that is bad for business. Too many companies fail to admit how critical IT is to their market offering. The perception of an entirely different culture only promotes us vs. them thinking and (in my opinion, anyhow) leads to more division and inability to execute. To be fair, I kind of get the feeling that Glen was making this point himself, in some ways. But I get equally the feeling that he was too in love with his ability to be an anthropologist among the tribes to really drive that point home.
I will concede that there may be some who get something out of the book. I would not, however, recommend it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Great for helping non-technical managers understand technical teams, 2007-10-05
If you're an IT manager, you should definitely have (and read!) a copy of the excellent book "Leading Geeks" by Paul Glen. It talks a lot about "common traits" of folks who are drawn to technology work, and what they mean from a management point of view, including how to leverage those traits to your team's advantage, rather than fighting an uphill battle against them.
IT managers who read the book will probably find a lot of the material somewhat obvious. However, I still think it's worthwhile reading, for two reasons. First, it coherently organizes a lot of those "obvious" things and points out conclusions and implications that you might never have consciously considered. Second, it gives you a good set of explanations and examples to use to explain to other (non-technical, such as upper management) folks why what your team does is hard to predict/forecast/manage.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
A New IT Workforce?, 2007-06-26
I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Glen's work and look forward to more like it in the future. Glen does a great job of identifying what today's IT geeks are like, giving its readers a window of opportunity to understand how to train, manage and lead those with similar characteristics. According to the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics, the IT industry ranks as one of the fastest-growing areas of job growth in the United States workforce, projecting a growth rate between 40 to 60 percent by 2014. With these projections, it is difficult to ignore the preparation that must take place to prepare new geeks for the future. It becomes necessary to understand the current trends of professionals in the IT industry to ensure that IT geeks receive the continued training they need to remain marketable in a competitive workforce.
Glen describes employees in IT occupations as follows:
[They] are the knowledge workers who specialize in the creation, maintenance, or support of high technology. They have job titles like programmer, product manager, project manager, quality assurance engineer, system designer, system architect, program manager, technical writer, help desk technician, deployment specialist, trainer, network manager, web designer, database administrator, desktop support technician, or telecommunications specialist. Some of them may carry titles like chief information officer (CIO), chief knowledge officer (CKO), chief technical officer (CTO), development director, operations manager, and, on rare occasions, chief executive officer (CEO).
Many of these roles are typical IT positions, with the exception of the following: project manager, product manager and program manager. Many IT professionals in Microsoft, for example, have responsibilities within the IT sector but work in the following areas: marketing, education, and product development. In general, new roles and responsibilities are emerging for the profession: evangelist, engagement manager, program manager, marketing manager, solution architect, business analyst. With heightened competition in a global economy, more professionals MUST diversify their portfolio, including how they brand their image.
As these roles implies, "geeks" will include more than those Glen defines as the "knowledge workers who specialize in the creation, maintenance, or support of high technology", it will eventually encompass others fields. As business needs redefine the future workforce, the fine lines of who these knowledge workers are become blurred. Technology will continue to be infused in our day-to-day business transactions, communication, and being. Geeks will include your accountants, marketing professionals, business professionals, educators, customer service specialist, managers, and so on.
Overall, Glen challenges that leadership and management is situational, requiring different approaches for different situations, settings, and people involved. As geek roles fluctuate, those in management and leadership roles overseeing this talent will need to focus on how to manage and sharpen human capital, in this case, IT geeks, for maximized business results.
For example, Glen proposes that geeks and their "geek work", require managers to create harmony to help iron out ambiguities, representative of many projects, regardless of field. Because high technology-related projects often requires understanding of the business goals, customer requirements (known and unknown customer requirements), and risks involved, managers can serve as buffer zones to foster persistent communication between geeks and the external world.
By focusing on the project goals and the "what" and "how", he emphasizes the importance of defining clear requirements, helping geeks understand the business environment, processes, and teamwork related to "geek work".
I highly recommend this book to managers and project team leads responsible for overseeing individuals working on computer technology-related projects, clients, and/or customers.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 better for non-technical managers, 2007-06-09
I think this book would be more useful for managers who are coming from a product marketing or more non-technical background. For managers coming up from technical roles (including project managers working on technical projects), a lot of the concepts in this book will be familiar, even obvious. Some of the sections on managing ambiguity were useful, but overall if you've just started managing technical people, I'd recommend Peopleware instead.
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