9 votes

Opinion: The unspoken truth about managing geeks

5 comments

  1. [5]
    Micycle_the_Bichael
    Link
    I feel like this article was written to try to paint a sympathetic and positive light on IT personalities and all I read was multiple paragraphs of jerking off IT pros for shitty personality...

    I feel like this article was written to try to paint a sympathetic and positive light on IT personalities and all I read was multiple paragraphs of jerking off IT pros for shitty personality traits that I find most of them only think they have while actually being some of the most self-focused, emotion-based based people I have ever had to wrangle.

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      nacho
      Link Parent
      I got that vibe too. Going beyond that, I still think this point is also true and important: The managerial issues involved in many of the industries and companies "geeks" are stereotypically...

      I got that vibe too.

      Going beyond that, I still think this point is also true and important:

      It turns out that it is the conditions that are stereotypical, and the IT pros tend to react to those conditions in logical ways. To say it a different way, organizations actively elicit these stereotypical negative behaviors.

      The managerial issues involved in many of the industries and companies "geeks" are stereotypically numerous in are a huge issue.

      That goes for academia just as much as it goes for tech companies. It doesn't absolve people for being hard to deal with and unwilling to do anything about that.

      5 votes
      1. Micycle_the_Bichael
        Link Parent
        I'll fully agree with that. I think the ideal (and maybe only) solution is to work at things from both sides. Managers and companies (academia included here) can do better about understanding the...

        I'll fully agree with that. I think the ideal (and maybe only) solution is to work at things from both sides. Managers and companies (academia included here) can do better about understanding the starting place and how to work with these types of employees, but the "geeks" need to be willing to grow and change as well.

        2 votes
    2. [2]
      Grendel
      Link Parent
      I definitely felt like there was an attempt to try and justify some bad behaviors by the author. It was bordering on 10x engineer territory. I posted it because I did feel like some of the points...

      I definitely felt like there was an attempt to try and justify some bad behaviors by the author. It was bordering on 10x engineer territory. I posted it because I did feel like some of the points the author makes about how IT is treated have some merit, and I thought it would make for interesting discussion here.

      5 votes
      1. Micycle_the_Bichael
        Link Parent
        That's super fair. I was probably too dismissive in my original post. I think most of these "How to work with IT people" usually have nuggets of truth that should be taken from them, and this one...

        That's super fair. I was probably too dismissive in my original post. I think most of these "How to work with IT people" usually have nuggets of truth that should be taken from them, and this one is no exception. However, with many of them (minus ones like 10x that you mentioned) don't feel like the author is trying to spin the traits as actually a positive thing. They feel more honest about the fact that these are negative traits and that makes things feel more honest. At least, that's my opinion. There are definitely positive things to take from the article and definitely worthwhile to discuss.

        3 votes