Comments on: Chief Cook or Manager? http://thefuturevalueofbusiness.com/chief-cook-or-manager.htm Using Business Intelligence to make data meaningful and solve business problems. Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:39:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Bill Sterzenbach http://thefuturevalueofbusiness.com/chief-cook-or-manager.htm/comment-page-1#comment-3 Bill Sterzenbach Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:46:08 +0000 http://thefuturevalueofbusiness.com/chief-cook-or-manager.htm#comment-3 Agreed! I've always thought the greatest way to ruin a technology guru is to promote them to management. I've often found the bond between stature and direct reports to be mystifying..why can't a technologist have stature without the burden of delegation? I agree with your thoughts - an advancement path that does not lead to a management (in the traditional sense) position is optimal. What tech folks want to do: Learn new technologies Make decisions on what technologies will be used Master things Advise (again - be consulted) Move technologist out of the cost channel and into the profit channel. Out from under CFO and into the marketing/sales organization. You see, CFO works from a cost perspective - every initiative is about what it costs, and growth to many of these folks is found by way of reduction. Often a scarcity mentality can be found here - generally in sales & marketing you'll find an abundance mentality - an attitude of 'Well, if we need it, what will the return be?' instead of 'Well, if we need it, what will the cost be?' .02 Agreed! I’ve always thought the greatest way to ruin a technology guru is to promote them to management. I’ve often found the bond between stature and direct reports to be mystifying..why can’t a technologist have stature without the burden of delegation?

I agree with your thoughts – an advancement path that does not lead to a management (in the traditional sense) position is optimal. What tech folks want to do:

Learn new technologies
Make decisions on what technologies will be used
Master things
Advise (again – be consulted)

Move technologist out of the cost channel and into the profit channel. Out from under CFO and into the marketing/sales organization. You see, CFO works from a cost perspective – every initiative is about what it costs, and growth to many of these folks is found by way of reduction. Often a scarcity mentality can be found here – generally in sales & marketing you’ll find an abundance mentality – an attitude of ‘Well, if we need it, what will the return be?’ instead of ‘Well, if we need it, what will the cost be?’

.02

]]> By: DAVIDeBOWMAN http://thefuturevalueofbusiness.com/chief-cook-or-manager.htm/comment-page-1#comment-2 DAVIDeBOWMAN Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:42:29 +0000 http://thefuturevalueofbusiness.com/chief-cook-or-manager.htm#comment-2 This challenge is absolutely real, and extremely difficult for organizations. How do you reward your best performers without a.) taking them away from what it is they love and are exceptional at doing b.) losing the front line talent that is helping the company to succeed? Often times talented performers are put into managerial roles only to discover that the skill set and responsibilities of the position are completely incongruent with what they seek. It is tough because on one hand, promotion to management seems to be the natural progression for a career. By not promoting the best performer, you run the risk of losing the best talent. People can feel as if they have been passed over and slighted. On the other hand, promoting someone into a situation that is not a good fit will almost always result in frustration and turnover. That is where having people deeply involved in the decision making process can be critical. As you say in your post "giving people a voice." The balance is to find a way to make a job more fulfilling and to continually increase the contribution of the best and brightest, while keeping them in roles that are aligned with their skills. This can only exist in an environment of trust between employee and employer. Both must have an implicit trust that must constantly be reinforced for this to work. It is all about communication. The belief that you can have an open dialog, without fear of negative consequences, is key - star or not. The desire by management to create this blog is testament to LUCRUM's belief in this idea. Give people a voice, and they will amaze you with what they have to say. This challenge is absolutely real, and extremely difficult for organizations. How do you reward your best performers without a.) taking them away from what it is they love and are exceptional at doing b.) losing the front line talent that is helping the company to succeed? Often times talented performers are put into managerial roles only to discover that the skill set and responsibilities of the position are completely incongruent with what they seek. It is tough because on one hand, promotion to management seems to be the natural progression for a career. By not promoting the best performer, you run the risk of losing the best talent. People can feel as if they have been passed over and slighted. On the other hand, promoting someone into a situation that is not a good fit will almost always result in frustration and turnover.
That is where having people deeply involved in the decision making process can be critical. As you say in your post “giving people a voice.” The balance is to find a way to make a job more fulfilling and to continually increase the contribution of the best and brightest, while keeping them in roles that are aligned with their skills. This can only exist in an environment of trust between employee and employer. Both must have an implicit trust that must constantly be reinforced for this to work. It is all about communication. The belief that you can have an open dialog, without fear of negative consequences, is key – star or not. The desire by management to create this blog is testament to LUCRUM’s belief in this idea. Give people a voice, and they will amaze you with what they have to say.

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