I once worked for a manager who thought everyone should bow down and kiss his feet. Okay, I’m not sure if he actually thought that, but that’s how it felt to me. He regularly canceled his one-on-ones with me. He interrupted me when I spoke at meetings. He tried to tell the people in my […]
I had a boss who was great at saying, “Terri did this. Jen did that. JR did this other thing.” We all knew who had learned about different areas of the system, who had succeeded at which parts of testing or development or project management. It was great. She didn’t just tell us. Nope, our
In my first management role, I “managed” one person. My managee didn’t need much management. He guided me into how to manage him more than I managed him. He saved me from making too many mistakes. It was great practice for me. Later in my management career, I managed a “team” of 15 testers. They
Bad management is easy. Well, let me rephrase that. It’s easy to perform management badly. But, it’s not so easy to perform management well. From the outside, it can seem as if management is effortless. But that doesn’t mean that good management is easy. Early in my management career, I returned home one day, plopped
“I know what the people in my group are doing, Johanna. Each and every one of them.” “But you have twenty-five people in your group, Stan,” I protested. “And I walk around and see what every single person is doing. I read their checkins, too. I know what they are doing.” I was working with
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 promotion. I was told, “You’re too valuable where you are.” I decided to make my
I’ve been having some strange email conversations with two testers, one business analyst, and a project manager. Yes, a total of four new people. They have each found jobs on projects. And, they are in over their heads. Each of them wrote to me, hoping I would help. The testers wanted to know how to
“Everyone is worth saving. Everyone is worth saving.” Jimmy was muttering under his breath as he walked into my office. “Hi, Steve. I’m here for our one-on-one. I have a real problem.” “OK, let’s hear it.” “Frieda is a problem in my group.” “Jimmy, we have discussed Frieda before. I thought you were going to
Have you been in a position where you–or your manager–wanted to save a difficult employee? Maybe you felt as if you bent over backwards to save an employee? Don’t do it. In this myth, Management Myth #6, I Can Save Everyone, I confront the myth that every employee somehow has a place at every organization.
I have another management myth, this one about ranking systems posted up at Techwell. This one, We Can and Must Have an Objective Ranking System, I suspect will generate much discussion. Be my guest!