Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology

by Paul Glen, David H. Maister, Warren G. Bennis

Winner of the 2003 Financial Times Germany/getAbstract Business & Finance Book Award Leading Geeks challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership methods are universal and gives executives and managers the understanding they need to manage and lead the technologists on whom they have become so dependent. This much-needed book? written in nontechnical language by Paul Glen, a highly acclaimed management consultant? gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. Glen not only provides proven management strategies but also background on why traditional approaches often don't work with geeks. Leading Geeks describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the unique nature of technical work. It also offers a unique twelve-part model that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Management, Nonfiction, Technology

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2002

Reviews

[Alex French · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few insightful points, but they would be easy to miss among jargon, management nonsense, and general disrespect for "Geeks".

Try reading a few pages, replacing the word "geeks" every time it is used with "babies" or "cats". Or if you want to get a sense of how insulting the book is, swap in "women" or "black people".

[Lisalou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but really he didn't write anything that most people don't hope for in their job. And if you eliminated all the paragraphs where he talks about what he is going to talk about in other chapters the book would be cut in half.

[Candice Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As noted by others, this book is primarily for managers who are not geeks. The value this book brought to me, a geek, is insight into some issues I am having with my non-geek boss. I am using this book to help me manage my tendencies, allowing for better communication.

[Jurgen Appelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really like it. Too much stereotyping of software developers.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book does have some great information for managing technical people, it should have been half the size. Poorly written and overly redundant.

[Shannon Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read, Lots of Perspective and Information

This book is easy enough to read and filled with information. I don’t feel comfortable using it as a single source of knowledge, but rather as an addition to leadership skills already in a repertoire. I particularly enjoyed the insight into what personalities of tech individuals may look like. Obviously we are all individuals and to assume this neatly describes all tech individuals would be a travesty, but it does open eyes to possible characteristics.

[Paul Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little outdated. Presumes an org structure where non-technical people lead technical people. I did take away the idea, however, that tech people have a strong sense of fairness that is foundational to their thinking. "Best idea wins" is very much the engineering mindset.

[Jens Stausgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The verdict on estimates made my day! :-)
“Estimates are always wrong” and “Detailed estimates are just detailed lies” 😄

[Christopher J Sorenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

TV sitcom caricature of "geeks" creates the foundation of his thoughts, but still thought provoking if you don't shut down reading it.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The grammatical error found in the introduction has set a bad tone for the rest of the book. Maybe it's on purpose. If you want to lead geeks, you have to be willing to overlook grammatical errors, because it's bound to happen on a regular basis.

Once I got past this, it was useful, despite the emphasis on stereotypical geeks. I feel like I know more about what doesn't work than what does work, but that's a huge part of it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know without a shadow of a doubt that I have some Geek within. I will admit that I definitely have struggled understanding some of the Geeks that I have worked with in the past and am sure to work with in the future. This is a great book for managers of Geeks. As a project manager, I deal on a continual basis of leading geeks in completing projects.

I highly recommend this book to any manager!

[Scott Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 100 pages reacquaint you with how knowledge workers function. There is nothing new here, but there are a lot of “a ha” moments as you re-realize what makes knowledge workers tick. The next 150 pages discuss how to represent technical teams upward and how to protect them downward. This is a good book for individual contributors making the leap into a managerial role. Reading this book sparked beneficial discussions with the managers on my team.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can no longer deny that I have some Geek-like tendencies after reading this book! I gained insight into how full-on geeks tick and strategies for how best to manage/work with them. In a more general sense, the book underscores the need to understand the person in order to forge the most productive and trusting relationship with them in any setting.

[Chris Smith-hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful advice on understanding geeks and enabling them to do their best. Paul Glen has developed systems and perspectives through his extensive experience that he passes on to the reader effectively. The chapter on Projects at the end was a bit too dry, skipped it. 5 stars for effectively passing on a wealth of experience.

[Stan]

Have you ever wondered what make those IT people tick. Here is your chance to find out. Even if you work with IT people, this book can provide deeper insight into leading people that are focused on technology.

[Julaine]

find out purchase price for book

[Nelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amaziiiiiiiing, I loved the part of Geeks leading Geeks!

[Nick0z]

So far, so good. As an IT worker, this book does well describing the tactics of some of my favorite bosses. At the same time, it helps me reflect on myself and the type of IT employee I want to be.

[Maria Mcmanus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cogent look at how to manage people who think very differently from the way I do. It's filled with concepts that had never occured to me. It could use more anecdotes, though.

[Jeff Bloomquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bozo switch discussion is great.

[Zach Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be good for non-technical managers of technical people but felt a little uninformative for a technical manager of technical people.

[Tim Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stuff for someone like me who manages and works with other technical people.

[Unoose Ayoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read..for most parts.
Respect of the geeks is easier to earn than Trust. This book provides pointers on earning both !