FAQ 3.04 How can someone manage something they don t understand?

FAQ 3.04 How can someone manage something they don't understand?

People have been doing it for years; managers hardly ever understand what they are managing.

Should the CEO of IBM know how to configure computers? Or issue expense checks? Or control the building temperature? No. The CEO's job is to understand strategy, directions, and politics; too much knowledge about operational minutiae would indicate misfocused energies. The same sort of thinking applies to every level of management, down to the first-level supervisor. Besides, if CEOs did understand the low-level details, they'd probably drive the developers crazy micromanaging them.

So managers shouldn't try to be technology experts. But how can they manage anyway? Anyone who has ever raised children has experienced keeping control without having a clue about what they were doing or what the children were saying. Managing a software project is the same thing, only the children are older and there are books that explain their lingo.

Of course, there are good managers and bad managers. Good managers lead their teams, set realistic goals, get needed resources, mentor team members, take care of administrative issues, and communicate business objectives. In other words, good managers are worthy individuals who need all the help and support they can get. So the wise developer educates the managers and becomes a reliable source of knowledge and common sense, the trusted person. Such developers protect their managers from themselves and learn to speak their language. Manipulate your managers like your children manipulate you!