June 8, 2010 at 04:34What should be the leader? Secrets of the profession
I’ll say right away - “I don’t discover America”, just as I do not “invent a bicycle”. The article is based on the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model . The model itself has been significantly changed as applied to the management of IT teams in our country and is supported by the practical experience of team management at Microsoft Rus and in its own business.
Choosing between the "academic" and "popular" styles of presentation, I chose the "academic". All the same, talking about serious things. So if this topic is not super-relevant to you right now - see the diagrams, they are enough to understand the idea. The rest is for a fairly narrow audience.
Why do I think the IT team requires other management techniques? Funny fact - for at least 5 years at many seminars I asked the question: “Who believes that the IT industry you have chosen is the most successful investment of your strength and skills in terms of salary? That is, if you worked with the same zeal in a real estate agency, McDonald's, a gas station or any other industry, would you receive less money? ” According to approximate estimates, out of about 10 thousand people surveyed, 15-20 people raised their hands. That is, the main incentive to work according to the generally accepted model - the salary is really not so significant in our industry. This is just one example, there are many other differences in the motivation of an IT specialist from an employee, for example, a sales department. Therefore, the leadership style should be different, although it’s obvious that “two hands,
An interesting fact is the three most profitable businesses as far as I know - selling flowers, drugs, weapons (in descending order).
When I first encountered team management, one of the key questions was: "How to behave?" Is it necessary to maintain administrative barriers (as recommended in the comments to the article " Effective team building ") or not? Is it necessary to teach a new employee using the “Gerasim method” or is he carefully and scrupulously teaching him everything he needs? Set only the largest goals and encourage the initiative or engage in micromanagement with a bias towards perfectionism? Need to focus on leadership or reporting? etc.
The discovery was a model of situational leadership that gave a clear and understandable answer: "Leadership style - according to the situation ....". Depending on the level of training in applying to the position of your subordinate. (Historical background - in general, besides Hersey-Blanchard, there are at least 5 more models of situational leadership, “holy wars” are still being waged).
Then what model of behavior when to choose?
The model suggests dividing the level of development into four stages (my translation).
1) Novice enthusiast. In IT, learning the new is very important. Any new work causes a surge of enthusiasm. The first quick successes strengthen it. But very quickly there are "pitfalls" that stop the work or turn it in a different direction. Here it should also be noted that IT specialists lack integrated fundamental training in our industry. So any new direction almost always reveals a lack of certain skills. Conflicts with the leadership are very frequent here - “retrograde, interfere with new methods”, “I am an excellent specialist, you don’t know how to set goals”, etc. Stage characteristics - high motivation, low level of training.
2) Learning realist. The period of initial euphoria has passed. There was no time to add knowledge. The specialist is depressed due to failures and failure to fulfill promises. Many at this stage “break down” - abandon what they have begun or even staying at the same job they begin to “pull the bagpipe”.
3) Stable employee. A small percentage of survivors of the past stage gain the necessary knowledge and are able to perform work in a strictly defined framework. And he is very afraid to go beyond this framework, since he still remembers very well the bitterness and humiliation of the previous stage.
4) Guru. Here he is our ideal worker. Recognized expert. Whose advice are we asking at the stage of setting the task. Offering options for improving the quality of the task and reducing the time it takes to complete. The only thing - at this stage, during a period of general incompetence, they rarely linger - leaving for a raise or taking on new technologies ... and becoming again a “novice enthusiast”.
How then to change leadership style?
1) Beginner Enthusiast Manager. It is useless to teach him - there is no understanding of the need for new skills. The main task of the leader is to set clear quantitative goals (I hope to write an article on the SMART concept) and prevent losses for the business while this “monkey with a grenade” frolics. And, by the way, do not forget that it is such a specialist who can bring a variety of useful innovations to your business with a “clean look”.
2) The manager of the learning realist. Meet, show this model. Explain that failure happens to everyone and start learning. Help with current tasks, patronize.
3) The manager of a stable employee. Does the specialist begin to cope? Remove custody. We move from coaching to coaching (the art of asking questions). We ask for advice, but reserve the right to make the final decision. We motivate to new approaches and new challenges.
4) Guru manager. We set tasks only at the highest level, leaving the specialist with the right to make intermediate decisions. We begin to develop and implement a program of professional and career growth.
I wanted to make the article as concise as possible, many aspects remained behind the scenes. And managing people is not an exact science with the only right solution. If you have questions, ask, we will discuss it with pleasure.
Choosing between the "academic" and "popular" styles of presentation, I chose the "academic". All the same, talking about serious things. So if this topic is not super-relevant to you right now - see the diagrams, they are enough to understand the idea. The rest is for a fairly narrow audience.
Why do I think the IT team requires other management techniques? Funny fact - for at least 5 years at many seminars I asked the question: “Who believes that the IT industry you have chosen is the most successful investment of your strength and skills in terms of salary? That is, if you worked with the same zeal in a real estate agency, McDonald's, a gas station or any other industry, would you receive less money? ” According to approximate estimates, out of about 10 thousand people surveyed, 15-20 people raised their hands. That is, the main incentive to work according to the generally accepted model - the salary is really not so significant in our industry. This is just one example, there are many other differences in the motivation of an IT specialist from an employee, for example, a sales department. Therefore, the leadership style should be different, although it’s obvious that “two hands,
An interesting fact is the three most profitable businesses as far as I know - selling flowers, drugs, weapons (in descending order).
When I first encountered team management, one of the key questions was: "How to behave?" Is it necessary to maintain administrative barriers (as recommended in the comments to the article " Effective team building ") or not? Is it necessary to teach a new employee using the “Gerasim method” or is he carefully and scrupulously teaching him everything he needs? Set only the largest goals and encourage the initiative or engage in micromanagement with a bias towards perfectionism? Need to focus on leadership or reporting? etc.
The discovery was a model of situational leadership that gave a clear and understandable answer: "Leadership style - according to the situation ....". Depending on the level of training in applying to the position of your subordinate. (Historical background - in general, besides Hersey-Blanchard, there are at least 5 more models of situational leadership, “holy wars” are still being waged).
Then what model of behavior when to choose?
The model suggests dividing the level of development into four stages (my translation).
1) Novice enthusiast. In IT, learning the new is very important. Any new work causes a surge of enthusiasm. The first quick successes strengthen it. But very quickly there are "pitfalls" that stop the work or turn it in a different direction. Here it should also be noted that IT specialists lack integrated fundamental training in our industry. So any new direction almost always reveals a lack of certain skills. Conflicts with the leadership are very frequent here - “retrograde, interfere with new methods”, “I am an excellent specialist, you don’t know how to set goals”, etc. Stage characteristics - high motivation, low level of training.
2) Learning realist. The period of initial euphoria has passed. There was no time to add knowledge. The specialist is depressed due to failures and failure to fulfill promises. Many at this stage “break down” - abandon what they have begun or even staying at the same job they begin to “pull the bagpipe”.
3) Stable employee. A small percentage of survivors of the past stage gain the necessary knowledge and are able to perform work in a strictly defined framework. And he is very afraid to go beyond this framework, since he still remembers very well the bitterness and humiliation of the previous stage.
4) Guru. Here he is our ideal worker. Recognized expert. Whose advice are we asking at the stage of setting the task. Offering options for improving the quality of the task and reducing the time it takes to complete. The only thing - at this stage, during a period of general incompetence, they rarely linger - leaving for a raise or taking on new technologies ... and becoming again a “novice enthusiast”.
How then to change leadership style?
1) Beginner Enthusiast Manager. It is useless to teach him - there is no understanding of the need for new skills. The main task of the leader is to set clear quantitative goals (I hope to write an article on the SMART concept) and prevent losses for the business while this “monkey with a grenade” frolics. And, by the way, do not forget that it is such a specialist who can bring a variety of useful innovations to your business with a “clean look”.
2) The manager of the learning realist. Meet, show this model. Explain that failure happens to everyone and start learning. Help with current tasks, patronize.
3) The manager of a stable employee. Does the specialist begin to cope? Remove custody. We move from coaching to coaching (the art of asking questions). We ask for advice, but reserve the right to make the final decision. We motivate to new approaches and new challenges.
4) Guru manager. We set tasks only at the highest level, leaving the specialist with the right to make intermediate decisions. We begin to develop and implement a program of professional and career growth.
I wanted to make the article as concise as possible, many aspects remained behind the scenes. And managing people is not an exact science with the only right solution. If you have questions, ask, we will discuss it with pleasure.