Re: IT Management, outsourcing & technical skills

[talexb]

Interesting post, thanks.

My idea of a good manager is someone who takes my technical recommendation and makes a decision using that information. Your manager made a different decision than the one that you recommended, perhaps based on budget information that you didn't have or need to know.

That's the organization's fault -- save a little now, pay a lot more later. Yeah, that's stupid.

People are prone to employ candidates who are as much like them as possible.

Yup, quite true. That can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing.

People are prone to disparage any skillset not their own.

Disagree. I'm actually glad someone else has the talent for doing Sales and Marketing. I suck at both those activities.

Technical people, especially developers, are perceived to lack interpersonal skills.

I think 'lack' is too strong a word -- geeks get on quite well with other geeks; you should see how chatty some Perlmongers meetings or YAPC events are. Let's say that they are not as talented at communicating.

Technical people are perceived to lack business awareness.

That's a mis-perception -- sure, as a technical person I can get fascinated by technical minutiae, but I am also able to pull back and think about the big picture.

Geeks don't want to be managers.

This is the most difficult statement to wish away, and probably requires a Meditation all on its own.

A manager usually doesn't get to 'do' any more -- he or she gets to direct others who do the doing. But there are two kinds of managers, people managers and technical managers; I sure don't want to be the first type of manager, but I'd love a chance to be the second kind of manager.

Wrestling a tough technical issue to the ground is what challenges me. Dealing with a difficult employee situation gives me the willies.