Good management vs. bad management

In my relatively short career, I have seen a LOT of bad managers, and relatively few good ones (one of the readers of this blog included in that). The subject has always interested me immensely, since a manager, often to a much greater extent than any of the people that work for him, determines the success or failure of a project. So what are some of the skills that make a good manager?

Area 1: People Skillz. 

A good manager is good with people, at least to the extent that the job requires it. You don't have to be a social butterfly, but you gotta be able to talk to people about what's important. The other important factor here is alpha-ness. It's about being able to ask things of people in a way that would motivate them to take action. It's also about being able to stand up to criticism from higher-ups and insisting on what's right. You need to muscle your way thru opinionated people and convince others of the merits of your case, whether it be on technical grounds or sales numbers, or just plain common sense. You need to know how to make people listen. 

There is also the flip side to that. I have seen too many managers who are too alpha. That means they're too dismissive of their subordinates, they don't listen enough, and they trust their gut instinct too much at the cost of proper decision making. The uber-alpha manager always thinks he/she got things under control, which can be a bad thing (see Area 5). Being too alpha can also mean demanding the impossible. ("We have to do finish this 5-month long project in 1 month and we have to do it perfectly"). Demanding the impossible and not listening enough will also mean losing the respect of the subordinates, who will not take you seriously, or despise you for wasting their time. 

Area 2: Responsibility a.k.a. giving a shit. 

This is a big one. It sounds obvious, but I've seen too many managers lacking passion for the project they're working on. If a manager only cares about having the burndown chart go to zero, or meeting the deadline without getting into the details of what that would really mean, he's a lazy fuck and needs to get some sense knocked into him (which would require someone above to detect the laziness and take action). The manager who doesn't give a shit, will never take responsibility for the project going wrong. The deadline slipping is always the fault of somebody else, "I was watching the burndown chart, and it looked like we were gonna make it, and then Bob put in this extra task at the last minute, so we failed because of him." This type of statement is usually followed up by some hand-waving: "But don't worry we're gonna make it anyway". The irresponsible managers also tend to socialize with each other at the cost of the team, to give each other a pat on the back when everything goes to hell. A responsible manager admits failure when it happens, and, what's more important, is going to try to do better in the next iteration. It's about the self-improvement attitude. Unfortunately, it seems like some managers are in it for the Manager at the XXX Corp title. Once they got the title, their job is done. I know I'm being silly, but sometimes it feels like that's how things work. 

Area 3: Time Management

This is the classical thing they teach in school and is covered extensively in books. How to manage your time and the time of your team. How to do project planning: estimates, burndown charts, how to handle the complexity of a project. Unlike Area 2, this is not a personality trait, but a skill, and most managers tend to have some idea what to do here. The problem comes later when (surprise!) the estimates don't reflect reality and something needs to be done. The manager inevitably needs to get into the details, as time management skills in and of themselves will only get you so far. This skill can improve with (management) experience.

Area 4: Technical Skillz and having a clue. 

You need to be able to know what the hell is going on. An art manager needs to know something about art, a programming manager needs to know something about programming. You need to know what estimates make sense for a particular employee or department.You need to know when people are throwing dust in your face, or (when they're throwing dust in their own face).  This bullshit-detector cannot be purchased at Walmart, and comes only with (technical) experience.

Area 5: Knowing Where the Project Is and where it needs to be

It's about really having a clue whether the project is 6 months from completion, or if it's 5 years away (as well as knowing what "completion" really means). Sounds easy, but this is the area where most of the bad managers I've seen failed completely. At least in the few places where I've worked, managers seem to get into the state of denial with unprecedented ease. Often an indicator of a manager who is bad at Area 5 is the following situation: when they declare a deadline, everybody on the team immediately knows they're not going to make it. The manager himself will continue insisting that that's where the deadline is and the scope won't change, until it's too late. You can blow dust in people's face, but you should always know that you're doing it and not kid yourself about making a deadline. The deadline is important, but just as important is the scope. What is it that is going to be delivered? What kinds of adjustments would need to be made to still make the deadline even though not everything is done? What kinds of corners can be cut, and what kinds of corners are too expensive to cut? Does the deadline need to be postponed? If so, will it be just one more week, or are you just kidding yourself again? You can SAY it's one week to sell it to the customer, but you need to know you're lying for your own sake.


Area 6: Knowing HOW to take the project where it needs to be

This is about knowing how to take a project from A or wherever it is to Z, the final deliverable. It will take all of the above skills together to achieve that, and no wonder good managers are hard to find. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.