Red Squirrel Reflections Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development

[Previous entry: "When TDD is no longer Extreme"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Customer Appreciation"]

On leaving the trenches
Tuesday, November 11, 2003

After reading the Cutter Consortium's Agile Project Management Executive Report, Building the Emotionally Intelligent Agile Manager, I was excited by the notion of EI (emotional intelligence) and the role it plays in the life of the agile manager...

"Agile managers' hallmark is adaptability and flexibility, but this flexibility must be based on accurate information. Given the close interactions within the development team (e.g., pair programming) and the frequent interaction with stakeholders, much of the critical data regarding a project is interpersonal or emotional in nature."

And then I read Esther's Qualifications for management and my excitement continued...

"If you want to be a great manager, learn as much as you can about working with people. Make it your major field of study."

Yet, despite these seemingly clear indications to me that my background and passions are leading me toward some form of management, the thought of actually being a manager is not attractive to me at all. This was hammered home during a zeroth draft exercise this afternoon. After some free association, I wrote the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" My answers included author, consultant, teammate, architect, facilitator, programmer, and coach, but not manager.

I believe my apprehension about management is rooted in the fear of loss. I find joy in solving difficult technical problems, in collaborating successfully as a team, in resolving and learning from conflict, and in creating learning opportunities for teams. My notion of manager seems to exclude what brings me joy and therefore the idea of management is unattractive.

I need to find some management examples that challenge my notion of manager. Intellectually, I know that many of the things that bring me joy fit nicely into the manger's job description, but my real-world examples of managers seem to have jaded me.

I want to keep a firm grasp on technology while collaborating with and empowering my teammates. David Socha took the words right out of my mouth...The human side of software fulfills me; the software side fascinates me. My brain tells me that a good manager is in a pivotal position to positively influence a team, but my gut keeps telling me to stay in the trenches.

Powered by Greymatter