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Johanna’s Books
Category Archives: management
Chess Pieces or Domain Expertise? Your Choice
Many years ago, I started a job as a contract manager, and it became clear I had a big problem. I had developers who knew one area of the code well. I had testers who knew not much of any … Continue reading
Posted in management
Tagged management myth, project management, project portfolio management
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Slides from Exploding Management Myths Posted
I gave a talk last week at Better Software/Agile Development, called Exploding Management Myths. This is my first talk based on some of my management myths. Yes, the ones I’ve been writing for the last 18 months. Yes, I have … Continue reading
Management Myth 16: “I Know How Long the Work Should Take”
Long ago, when I was a young developer at an anonymous company, one of my managers was disappointed with my progress. “I know how long the work should take. If I was doing the work, it would be done by … Continue reading
Telecommuting, Hoteling, and Managing Product Development
There are two sides of this conversation about telecommuting: the employee side and the management side. I hope you stick around for both sides. You can yell at me at the end. Employees: You Owe the Company a Full Day … Continue reading
Posted in management
Tagged agile, introverts, program management, project management, teams, trust
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Who Is Invested?
I have another management myth up on Stickyminds. This one is Management Myth 15: I Need People to Work Overtime. Managers, especially senior managers, want people to be “invested” and “motivated” to do a great job. Often, the only measure … Continue reading
Servant Leadership Needs Influence
I’m at AgileIndyConf today and tomorrow. Today, I’m leading a tutorial about Agile Project Management. Tomorrow is my keynote about Agile Management. And, that got me thinking about agile management, again. To be a great agile manager, you need to … Continue reading
Bumping Into Manager Rules
You might have met a manager on a bad manager day. Equally as frustrating is when you work for a manager who has rules about problem solving. I once worked for a manager who proudly said to me, “Don’t bring … Continue reading
Ever Have a Bad Manager Day?
I wish I could tell you I never had a bad manager day. I wish I could tell you I never screwed up. Nope, that would be a very tall tale. Here’s a doozy. I once told one of my … Continue reading
Who Do You Promote Into Management?
I vividly remember my first promotion into management. I was looking for a promotion to be a senior engineer. I asked for a promotion. I got a promotion into management. Was I ready? Oh no! I remember asking for another … Continue reading
Posted in management
Tagged career, career development, management myth, one-on-one, succession planning
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Cheerleading? No. Courage? Yes
I have another management myth up over at Stickyminds. This one is Management Myth #11: The Team Needs a Cheerleader! I once worked for a manager who ignored all the problems we had, who said, “Let’s go, gang, we can … Continue reading
