This is how I usually work as a contributing manager. I have been technical lead on plenty of successful projects so my ego is not involved. The thing that matters most is that *everybody* understands what the system is supposed to do and how it’s supposed to do it. If a project gets completed and there are not at least three people who could maintain or upgrade it, that project is a long-term liability.
So here’s a longer story because I have worked most of my career in the context of management consulting implementing technical transformations. In every country there is an archetype business decision making process.
Germany: Find the most senior, advanced technical person you can find. Everybody competes for his attention and does exactly what he says. All the discussion is about the implications of his vision. Think Porsche 911. It’s the same vision after 70 years, incrementally perfected.
Japan: Get everybody to decide together in harmony so that there are no objections. Once that decision is made, NO deviations. You deliver exactly what you promised no matter what realities have changed. Your commitment is to the commonly agreed-upon decision of the group.
America: Get the smartest people you can and focus on an audacious goal. The goal is all that matters, get there by any means necessary. Adjust whenever adjustments are called for, even if you pivot to a completely new goal. People are replaceable, the goal is not. Think Apollo Program or Manhattan Project. It’s all about the Big Thing.
France: Everybody contributes an idea, everybody argues for their own idea. Every argument is a possible winner. You criticize whatever you need to to win. Personal insults are not off limits. The winner is the last one standing. The one with the most die-hard conviction. Think Napoleon. Winner take all.
England: Think back to the most classic example of this being done right. Capture the spirit of that adventure. Engage in whatever passive aggressive behavior is necessary to establish the proper esprit de corps. Be resolute against all obstacles and don’t complain. Give it your best, give it your all.
All of these management styles can be pure or in combination. Whenever I’m looking at a project and getting things done with people, I figure out what the spirit is. Every business has its own culture, and then every group of developers have their own personalities that drive a certain culture.
I am very good at a skill called ‘individuation’, which means I am good at determining people’s strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and can always get value from them. I like the French argument upfront, but then I get all English. I figure out what each person can do to contribute (or not) and make sure they get the proper assignment. It turns out that you rarely get a German-style SME that everybody agrees in the genius, but sometimes there is a specialist who is close. You want to make everybody feel like it’s a big American project, even if it’s not. And we who produce are not Japan, the customer is Japan. Give them what you promised, period.
Skill, in this context, is really ultimately only a matter of personality. Either you ‘get it’ quickly or you understand slowly. If your skill makes you impatient, then you are part of the problem because everywhere is not Germany. Everybody on the project has to understand completely. So it’s the job of a good project manager to deliver to the customer an IT service that gets built in the amount of time it takes for the delivery team to reach that understanding. Of course, Cheap, Fast, Good, pick two.
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