Leaders In the Know

Great Minds Don't Always Think Alike

It doesn't take a linguist to figure out that geeks and suits speak a different language - especially when emotions run high (or meeting fatigue has set in.) But just as it's important to be mulit-lingual in a global community, managing a technology-dependent company makes it incumbent that business and IT people learn to understand one other more clearly.

In my early days of working with IT people, I learned the hard way the difference between sort and select, and the importance of specifying what "alpha" order means. (Like who would ever think that first name would be an option?) Oh, if only it were as easy as memorizing vocabulary words or having IT folks embedded in other departments.

The difference between geeks and suits illustrates what can happen when two great minds not only don't think alike, they don't work or define success in the same way. 

"Process," "requirement," and "project," for example, encompasses far greater detail and specificity to IT than it does to the business. IT is worrying about architecture, constraints, dependencies and resources, while the business folks are thinking operating cost, end result and ease of use.

Working together can also be a painful experience. The IT folks work in an iterative way, thinking things through, trying to understand all the implications in a world that is very complex. Business people, I hate to say, more often than not prefer the "point and shoot" method: make the best decision you can with the best information you've got, and go.

IT folks declare victory when a project comes in on time, on budget, and doesn't crash. Business people take all of that as a given; for them success is when the technology is easy to learn, makes their lives easier, and lead to a better business result.

Like my friend, Paul Glen, I spend a lot of time thinking about this phenomenon. Paul wrote a terrific book called, Leading Geeks; he has a neat newsletter and lots of tips on his website www.leadinggeeks.com.

I am not optimistic that this chasm between geeks and suits will disappear soon. There's a big difference between being proficient using technology and having the deep knowledge required to build it. When geek-ness and suit-ness occupy the same body, it's a beautiful thing. But it's also extremely rare.

You're Fired

A tough decision to come to and an even tougher message to deliver.

Once you make the decision there's no turning back. The trouble is having made the tough call, leaders often think of the matter as dealt with - as in, let's just deliver the news and move on. But how you deliver the news and what happens afterward matter.

Even experienced, skilled managers hire someone who looked perfect from their resume, held responsible positions, has a great reputation ... and everyone loved during the interview process. We can all think of situations where it just doesn't work out as well as we'd hoped.

At first, the work product was great. The fresh ideas and rigor you were hoping for begin to show. But as time goes by we have to admit that, well, maybe some deliverables were off. Giving assignments that might bring out their strengths doesn't do it either. You're just not getting the star you invested in.

Initially, they may even be receptive to feedback and advice. Soon, there are rumblings from peers. Sometimes you get an earful from customers... or hints from direct reports about their style. More feedback and advice is met with increasing defensiveness.

Eventually, you have to face it. There is no way this person is going to work out. Maybe he just isn't the superstar everyone else seemed to think he was. Maybe she just never did "get it" about how to work within the culture.

Who knows? Bottom line, it's over.

Everyone is watching how you handle the situation. Take the opportunity to lead with integrity:

• Don't prolong the inevitable. It takes too much energy to keep someone in a job they don't do well.
• Be honest (but not exhaustive!) about why you've come to the decision - and be able to      explain it so that it makes sense.
• Plan as if the conversation will come as an awful surprise - even if you think it won't.
• Offer options, if possible, to handle the exit.
• Be respectful. Make the experience after they leave your office as comfortable as possible.

Think about what their friends and family will say about you when they hear the news. Their reaction can determine whether everyone "moves on" - or the situation haunts you for years to come.

Leading with Integrity

Welcome to my blog.

Being In the Know is all about cutting through the facade to the core of a business problem - often involving either people or technology or both - and finding a practical solution (simple, if possible) that real people can actually use.

You can't be a true leader (well not for long, anyway) if you don't Lead with Integrity. Integrity has a lot to do with walking the talk but it's more than that. Integrity is not just something we have it's something that defines who we are. Integrity is about being part of the solution more often than part of the problem.

The problem is reality gets in the way: whether it's because of our own personal shortcomings, or not enough time in the day, or situations that change, or other people, or overload - all the stuff that gets in the way of good intentions.

My life is like that of many other people who lead an organization (in my case, a business.) I am actively involved in civic and professional associations, and teach a class in human resource management at the

Wharton

School.

We have three kids (and the tuitions that go with them) and parents who are getting older. I'm impatient, have way too many things to do, never enough resources to do what I'd like, people constantly looking to me for a decision and, of course, am information overloaded. So I know where you're coming from.

This blog is a way for us to talk about the real issues managers and leaders face, new ways of looking at them and practical ways for dealing with them.