Technology, management, can I do both?

I would love to think that I am "vital" technologically, but it's silly to think that I can do it all - to run the IT shop and to be THE lead tech. With everything we need to know now - business processes, personnel coaching, etc. - it's not possible. Couple that with the sheer number of emerging technologies and the details that they require one to know.

I've accepted that my "ballroom days are over" (to quote The Doors) and now I'm smartest when I surround myself with smart people and keep them smart through education. I think Clinton did that extremely well and if he's smart, Bush will do the same.

Tom

You must make a dedicated effort to keep up with technology and stay solid technically. Your credibility depends on it.

I stay current to command and maintain the respect of those I lead. I know first hand that technical people (the real stars)can only really respect a superior that they trust has an expert clue about what the troops do for a living. They can sniff out an 'artist' or pretender in one meeting.

Keep AN edge. Not too much. Leave that to your architects and engineers. That is why I come to this site and others. I contend the brain is a muscle. Keep her moving, or she atrophys.

Cheers all!

1) The pay is as good or better. Most senior technical people get pay that is comperable to most management.

2) Technology is more fun than management. Technical tasks are more clearly identified, more accomplishable and more satisfying.

3)You are more protected from the vagrancies the Information Revolution and can actually take advantage. You can move around and work on more interesting projects, suffer less on bad ones and make more money to boot. If a manager wants to move to a new project or a new firm it takes a long time and they must really sell themselves.

4) Technical workers get to learn more. It takes at least 20% of your time to stay up with a fast moving technology for which you are professionally responsible. AS a technical expert you get to learn new things while using project funds to pay for it. Managers don't get good technical training.

5) As a manager, the success of your project is based on the competence of other people. You really have to have a GREAT bull shit alarm. Your personal advancement is pretty much based on the success of your project, not your skills and capabilities.

6) A manager needs great mentoring to get ahead professionally. Do you have your mentor(s) identified? Do you want to be like these people?

7) You can switch to management any time but swiching back is hard. A technical person will often be asked if they want to be a project manager. But an experienced manager faces many hours of training and hard work if he/she wants to establish credentials as a technical person again.

Here's the net -- The world needs more good technicians and is willing to pay for them. Management is hard, uncertain and unrewarding. Business can't protect managers from the unhappy realities of management and executive positions.

Stay technical if you possibly can. It is more fun and more worthwhile.

To statisfy your technical appetite while you transition to management, pick one technology that you would like to remain current on and let others handle the rest. At the same time, dive into studying management techniques and practices.

You will find there is a lot of contradictory management advice out there. It is fascinating to try to pull together pieces and craft a consolidated approach. You will find it every bit as creative to solve management "bugs" as any you found on the technical side.

So pick one technical area and then dive into management. It can really be quite challanging to avoid becoming one of the managers you used to hate!

P.S. I am a strong advocate of W. Edwards Deming's approaches to management. I recommend "Out of the Crisis" and "New Economics" as must reads.

You can do both. I was a hard core tech, until I started working as a ProjectManager for an Internet company. Now two years later having coasted on my tech skills, I am working on getting certified in everything(MSCE, Sun, Notes, Cisco). It just takes cash, time, and focus.
I know people who are top level consultants who have MBAs and are certified in everything. They do it all and are paid for it, $175-250K+. I don't know any programmers or techs who make near that. The top level for tech only, seems to be 120K.
Of course you have to love what you do and see it as enjoyment and not work. Or you will never make it.
GoodLuck
Poor Little 120K man

Forgive my cynicism but I really do belive that most ex-techie managers are lost. They may well do good common sense management, they may keep their bosses happy, they may have a happy shop. But I see so many dumb! technical decisions being made you wouldn't belive it. I'm a contractor so I give the clients the best I can and only give advice that is asked for but ....

I've heard it said that when you get a promotion with a change of responsibilities you have to be careful. Continuing toexcel at the things that got you the promotion is not going ensure that you are going to fill your new responsibilities well. You need to spend your time on learning and practicing what you don't know not what you do.

So, stay with what you likeand don't pretend to be something else.

... is comparing a mechanic to a technology person. THAT is a manager talking, if I've ever heard one .

In the words of the old song, "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail ..." I guess the question is who is the hammer in this scenario?

No, Joe - it doesn't get easier - the budgeting (or cutting thereof with expectations to maintain the same level of service) or more importantly, the people management job. I'm lucky where I am now, my people are not head cases. That isn't the way it was at my last job.

If I could do it over again, I'd never would've taken the management route.

Signed,
Someone who's been there for 8 years+

I agree with most of what you say except for the emphasis. My philosophy in buying a car is find a good mechanic, ask him what kind of car he likes to work on, and buy that kind of car. A happy mechanic is more likely to do good work and a bad one will give you untold misery.

Management is fine and noble work if done well. It is very hard to do well. One should not confuse being a good manager with technical wisdom. One can be wise in the ways of technology but that is not a managers job and it doesn't help much. You need people skills, administrative skills, planning skills, and like I mentioned before -- a great bull shit alarm. Also a hide like a rhino.

It is great folly to think that because you manage a technical project, used to know a lot about _______(your expertise here), and you read a lot, that you can make a good "technical" decision. The best you can hope for is to coordinate the making of a good decision.
One more important point. Your staff's job is not to keep you up to date unless their job is that of private tutor (I really want one of these!). They will present material with a slant toward their own interests, no matter how hard they try. For example, ask a room of programers what is their preferedskill set. Then present them a basic programming problem and ask for their recommened solution environment. I'll bet the C++ guys will recommend C++ and the VB guys will recommend VB (and the Cobol guys....)

I like your attitude! But I respectfully disagree with your solutions! I think there is a great deal of just plane bad management about. Always has been. Additionally, with the Information Revolution changing things every few months, we can expect to see lots of stress cracks in both firms and managers.

The solution is not to attract IT people into management. The solution is to look around and see what works. MBA managers should be able to help with this but unhappily most of what is taught in business school has to do with finance, charts, accounts, legal requirements, and bad philosophy. I don't have all the answers but IMHO what we need here are people skills -- including leadership--, simple project management, basic scheduling, and how to keep the shit from rolling down hill so your people can work.

Your last paragraph was particularly thoughtful, I couldn't agree more.

Funny, I was talking to one of my staff this morning who is a student about to graduate college and I told him to NEVER get into management if he could avoid it. Again, thatjust comes from being there for so long.

Cheers

One's answer is dependent on their environment. I work in a small organization, so my management duties run the gamut - budgeting, strategic planning, scheduling, marketing, inventory control, internal client management and other big picture tasks - not to mention all the people issues, support for my boss's projects and those of the HIS bosses and our firm's clients. There aren't enough hours in the day to be on top of all of that, especially for those of us with no formal training on business processes, AND all the new technologies we are implementing or want to implement.

For me, the best approach has been to be sufficiently knowledgable to understand, but not to do. For others, they may have the leisure to be more expert in the technology(ies).

I'll be honest: I don't want to be a techie if I can't be a full time techie. When it comes to network or workstation support, anybody on the IT phone list is fair game to be pulled into a support issue best left for those who don't have to do the management side as well.

And, I also enjoy spending nights with my family v. my computer

Cheers.

I studied Business Administration and I'm a Business Analyst, I'm in IT because one of that funny things in life. I know that management can be very painful for some kind of people but everybody have to know about the business processes, how to plan, how to get a budget, these are skills very useful in whatever your field is.
You have to evaluate yourself, do a SWOT analysis and focus in the area you want to be and you are good at.
Sorry about my english, I'm mexican.
Bye.

Very interesting thread!

I think the main issue is to have a crystal clear understanding with management about WHICH hat you are wearing and when those roles conflict what expectations are for you.

The danger is in the conflicting expectations
and the fact that senior management usually
sees more value in managing than in staying on top of technology because that is the lens
through which they view the organization.

Im painting with a broad brush here, but its a high-stakes area.

I believe that you need both the generalist
and the specialist for a well rounded team.
The specialist bring expertise and the
generalist bring the flexibility and the
first and second levels of support for the
organization. I don't think the job can be
done without both.

I took the jump into middle management two
years ago. I was a "techie" for 10 years
prior to that.

A techie making the jump into management is
going to have to sacrifice technical
expertise in alot of ways. (Hands on and in
the trenches) And it's one of the hardest
things for us to do. (Just ask the techies
that have made the jump!) I have attempted
to be a very hands on manager of my
department and ended up sacrificing my
management skills because of it. It seems to
work the other way as well.

As managers, we need to keep an eye on the
"big picture" and be able to guide our
businesses into the future. There are up and
coming techies that will have a better handle
on the emerging technologies because they
have grown up with it. Although I attempt
to stay current with emerging technologies, I
don't need to be in the trenches figuring out
why x doesn't work like z. I have staff that
were hired for that purpose. What I need to
do is figure out how the emerging
technologies can impact or enhance the
business I am in and be able to guide the
execs towards that end.

There's alot of hats in middle management
that we have to wear, we have to take the
companies vision and translate it to the
trenches. That's why they call it middle
management!

Trust your gut. You'll never know the right answer on this side of the question, no matter how insightful (or not) our comments are. In the end, you have to live with yourself and your decision, so think long and hard and head in the direction your heart takes you. Either way, the ride should be "interesting" at least.

All the best.

Tom

What was your summary of the discussion? I was reading all the threads, and of course have my own opinion of YES, with many examples of how, but I want to know your thoughts on your topic and answers the members gave!

WELL?!?! We're waiting...