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Taming of the New Shrew

Haziel Matias MBA PMP

Leading and working with IT Professionals

Sub-topics

• Why a Shrew?

• Who are the IT Professionals (IT Pros)

• Qualities that differentiate IT Pros from non IT Pros

• Quick survey of your personal experiences dealing

with your team of IT Pros (both + & - encounters)

• Characteristics of IT Pros per textbooks & Research

• IT Pros technical skills versus people (soft) skills

• “by-the-book” managing IT Pros, human behavior,

motivators, motivating agents, and human

capital/resources management tasks

• Lead with your gut with lessons learned from your

experience or hit the books for the leadership

theories, style or model that will work for you and

your team of IT Pros

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Why a Shrew?

Definition of shrew

1) any of a family (Soricidae) of small, mouse-sized mammal

and love to EAT BUGS

2) an ill-tempered scolding woman – as in Shakespeare’s Taming of

the Shrew

“SHREWD or Shrewdly” - showing ability to understand things

and to make good judgments : mentally sharp or clever

Who are the IT Professionals

• Computer systems analysts,

• Computer systems engineers

• Network Engineers

• Security Engineers

• Security Administrators for Software and EA apps

• Software developers

• Web Developers

• Technical specialists

• IT project manager

• Other IT hardware infrastructure support personnel…

To learn more about IT Pros and workforce needs go to

https://www.comptia.org/resources/evaluating-it-workforce-

needs

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Qualities that differentiate IT Pros from non IT Pros

• Behavioral differences inherent to those working in IT

• knowledge workers, like to be challenged, solve problems

• driven by reason and logic, prefer to work on more difficult

tasks because simple things are boring

• like their freedom to work in environments where they feel

comfortable and the most productive

• usually prefer to work alone and remotely

• work in non traditional settings – pure virtual or hybrid

((face to face (co-location)) and virtual)

• do not want to be micromanaged

• like independence, staying up to date, challenging tasks

• identify with their profession more than with their company

• naturally suspicious but are logic driven

Quick survey - personal experiences dealing with IT Pros

(both + & - encounters)

• Attendees’ quick Survey from own personal experience of

standout encounters with IT Pros that made a lasting

impact on you both positive and negative qualities of IT

Pros as project team members (pass yellow (negative) and

green (positive) note pads to attendees)

• It is good to dwell on the good and positives qualities of

IT Pros. Remember they are humans too and they or at

least some may have significant negative qualities that

maybe toxic to team work and working in groups. I

worked in IT for more than 20 years and I have seen a

thing or two!

Ask a volunteer to classify qualities by “Positive” and

“Negative” grouping of notes.

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• Suspicious, do not trust easily, not social, need to develop

or improve on their soft skills

• do not like status meetings, if recognized and shown they

are valued, those meeting will go smoother

• as long as they have time and resources, they thrive on

learning new things

• management approach that is preferred is more of a

democratic approach

• including them in decisions will help ease their suspicions,

give them ownership and responsibilities over the project

tasks they will be working on

• naturally suspicious but are logic driven. Unless there is a

reason to hid things, keep things open

• “Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything Plans don’t accomplish anything either. Theories of

management don’t much either. Endeavors succeed or fail because of PEOPLE involved” quote from the

former US Secretary of State: Colin Powell

More Qualities of IT Pros per textbooks & Research

• 4 Qualities to engage IT Pros and get their interest and attention

• 1) Value

• 2) Difficulty

• 3) Learning

• 4) Competition - for bragging rights

• Ref: Glen, P. (2013). Geeks love problems, so give them some. Computerworld,

47(11), 56. This article describes the motivation that problem solving provides

IT personnel. IT pros are mostly not very social people.

6 Traits of rising IT Pros star –

• 1) gravitate toward big, gnarly projects;

• 2) build and lead high-performance teams;

• 3) live and breathe business strategy;

• 4) learn from failure; and

• 5) lead with humility.

• 6) And most importantly, they love this stuff or love what they do

- Ref: Mayor, T. (2014). 6 traits of rising IT stars. Computerworld Digital

Magazine, 2(3), 13–20. CIOs describe what they look for in IT professional

"stars."

• “Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything Plans don’t accomplish anything either. Theories of

management don’t much either. Endeavors succeed or fail because of PEOPLE involved” quote from the

former US Secretary of State: Colin Powell

Characteristics of IT Pros per textbooks & Research

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People Skills and Team building activities in Project Management

• Humans are social beings and we survive and thrive as a group, this is a

reality both in the workplace and in our personal affairs.

• IT Pros who are with the organization for a while may not want change,

depends on the attitude and on other factors that can even be psychological.

• Working effectively in teams is something that cannot be taught in

books, it is an activity that we can always improve on with practice.

• The Team Building activities are very good, especially in fostering

better communication that lead to the building of trust and

friendships.

• Team Building activities are also ideal for friendly competition which

if done properly can help develop these qualities to an even greater

level. Competition, as long as it is kept to a friendly level, can really

help develop a bond that might be difficult to properly form without

it.

Cont…People Skills and Team building activities

• Trust, honest and nonjudgmental exchange of ideas, open discussions,

respect for others who think differently from us, being open to new

ideas and ways of doing things, are good traits and behavior we want

to encourage in our team for collaboration activities.

• Creating a diversity friendly setting encouraging team members to

contribution in the team discussion is good start. Collaboration and a

culture of sharing need to be cultivated.

• I worked for a long time in IT environment and in some situations a

team member refuse to share a critical information, holding on to

what they know and do not want to share (job security). – The need

for a Knowledge Management initiatives, maybe start a Knowledge

bank.

• With technology advancing and changing so fast, the knowledge we

are holding on to, that we still think as precious as gold, may have

actually turned worthless and obsolete. We won’t even know because

we did not want to say it nor share it. – Need to cultivate a culture of

sharing.

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Choice to recruit members of your High Performance Team?

• Your on a time crunch to finish a high profile project

• What Traits to look for in your IT Pros

• Traits – (Trait theory) of leadership focus on the personality and

intellectual and physical traits that distinguish leaders from non

leaders. The majority of trait theorists agree that leaders have the

following five traits in common:

• Loyalty

• Competence

• Integrity

• Conviction

• Enthusiasm

Team Development

Team building - actions taken

specifically to:

*improve team performance

*manage conflict

*establish working

relationships

Team building activities:

*team planning

*team meetings

*team training

*team exercises

cally to:

*improve team performance

*manage conflict

*establish working

relationships

Team building activities:

*team planning

*team meetings

*team training

*team exercises

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CONSTRUCTIVE ROLES

• Gatekeeper

• Initiator

• Information Seeker

• Information Giver

• Encourager

• Clarifier

• Harmonizer

• Summarizer

• tiator

• Information Seeker

• Information Giver

• Encourager

• Clarifier

• Harmonizer

• Summarizer

Informal roles PM team members take on – will impact the team’s ability to accomplish work.

DESTRUCTIVE ROLES

• Blocker

• Devil’s Advocate

• Withdrawer

• Topic Jumper

• Dominator

Most people think that Devil’s advocate is a way to prevent “groupthink”. In reality a lot of turmoil is created, energy spent to debunk a concept or ideas that the presenter doesn’t own or even believe.

Only thoughts that people are willing to own should be invested in.

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Going “by-the-book“

• Human Capital or Human Resource Management - includes the processes

required to make the most effective use of people involved with the

project. It includes all project stakeholders – sponsors, customers,

partners, individual contributors and others.

• Let us review the Human Capital or human resource management theories

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - five layers of needs: physiological (food),

safety, social needs (love and friendship), self-esteem, and self-

actualization.

• Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation - the two catalysts for workers: hygiene

agents and motivating agents.

• Hygiene agents - do nothing to motivate, but their absence demotivates

workers. Hygiene agents are the expectations of all workers - job security,

a paycheck, clean and safe working conditions, a sense of belonging, civil

working relationships, and other basic attributes associated with

employment.

Cont… Going “by-the-book"

• Motivating agents – higher level aspirations that motivate humans to excel

– sense of responsibility, appreciation of work, recognition, opportunity to

excel, education, and other opportunities associated with a person’s self

worth other than just financial rewards.

• McGregory’s Theory of X and Y: the “X” theory that workers are lazy,

don’t want to work, and need to be micromanaged. The “Y” theory that

workers are self-led, motivated, and can accomplish things on their own.

• Ouchi’s Theory Z - theory that workers are motivated by a sense of

commitment, opportunity, and advancement. Workers will work if they are

challenged and motivated. Advocate participative management.

• Expectancy Theory –theory that workers will behave or work in

accordance with what they expect as the result of their work or behavior.

In other words, people will work in relation to the expected pay or reward

for the work.

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Physiological

Safety/Security

Social/Affiliation

Self Esteem

Self-Actualization e

The NEEDS Theories by the psychologist Maslow

Physiological

Safety/Security

Social/Affiliation

Esteem

Self-Actualization

e

The NEEDS Theories by

the psychologist Maslow

Existence

Relatedness

Growth

Over Time this evolved into a

simpler model where Hertzberg

took this concept into the work

place.

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e

Existence

Relatedness

Growth

Hertzberg took the concept into the work place and defined

influences as either motivators or hygiene factors.

A hygiene factor – is an item or condition that is an expectation

on the part of the employee. Providing it does not motivate but

failure to provide it will dissatisfy.

MOTIVATORS:

- Advancement

- Growth

- Achievement

HYGIENE:

- job security

- salary

- working conditions

- group member

Expectancy Theory

Employees who continue to believe

that their efforts will be effective and

rewarded will stay productive.

Low expectations = low performance

High expectations = high performance

heir efforts will be effective and

rewarded will stay productive.

Low expectations = low performance

High expectations = high performance

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What type of leadership model will work well with IT pros?

• LEADERSHIP THEORIES – are too many to list, they usually relate to

how to influence and motivate employee. The following is a partial list of

leadership theories you may want to check out if one or two fit your style:

• Great man theory

• Situational Leadership®

• Leadership contingency model

• Path-goal leadership theory

• Four-factor theory of leadership

• Substitutes for leadership

• Transactional leadership model

• Charismatic theory of leadership

• Transformational leadership theory

• Role theory

• Vertical linkage dyad

• Vertical exchange theory

Or simply what leadership style will work well

with your IT Pros

For me personally I prefer

• VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP: because it is

PERSONAL my personal values are what I know and live

by day in and day out. I will not have to transform myself,

I will just be myself. Doing the best I can with any task in

front of me and manage it with my core values as an ethical

human being, compassionate et all, doing my best, the way

I know how and be just and fair along the way.

• The noted ethicist and educator Dr. Robert Rue

emphasizes that: “Values are the essence of who we are as

human beings. Our values get us out of bed every morning,

help us select the work we do, the company we keep, the

relationships we build, and ultimately, the groups and

organizations that we lead.

• (a) Loyalty and Respect:

• B) to be treated Fair and square:

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VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP - continue

• Your team, your IT Pros team members or anyone for that

matter would like to be treated with-

• 1) Respect and loyalty:

• 2) Be treated Fair and square:

• 3) Mutual trust: – be trustworthy and your team will trust

you

• 4) Decisions based on values: Past history is always

experienced and context-based, and beliefs are not

equipped to handle complex new situations that have not

been experienced previously so you use ethics and your

morale compass to guide you.

• 5) Team Members Commitment: making authentic

decisions that build the trust and commitment of Team

members

VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP - continue

• If you trust your values that have been instilled deeply

within your moral fiber and dictate your very action in life,

work and dealings with others then you will make decisions

that will be fair and equitable.

• As long as you make the choices and decisions you believe

to be right – your principles will be preserved and your

decisions will generate respect from others and preserve

self-worth and integrity.

• Defining Values-Based Leadership

Values-based leadership - the concept is primarily defined as

leading by example, that is, doing the right thing for the right

reasons and not compromising your core principles.

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VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP - continue

• Renown and legendary IT personality talked about values:

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, Inc., once remarked, “The

only thing that works is management by values. Find people who

are competent and really bright, but more importantly, people

who care exactly about the same thing you care about.”

(Koteinikov quoting Jobs, 2008).

. Ethics: Maintain the highest standards with customers, team

members, stockholders and communities:

– Value and reward open, honest, two-way communication.

– Be accountable for, proud of, your conduct your decisions.

– Only make promises you intend to keep, do what you say

you’ll do.

– If things change, let people know.

• Avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interest.

• Comply with the letter and the spirit of the law.

VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP - continue

• Customer Satisfaction: Consider the customer in all we do:

– Exceed the expectations of internal and external customers –

surprise and delight them.

• Do what’s right for the customer.

• Talk and act with the customer in mind.

• Build long-term customer relationships.

• Treat customers with care\

• Leadership and Personal Accountability: Every team member who

contributes to the company’s success should:

– Take prudent risks.

– Lead by example.

– Make decisions locally, close to the customer.

– Know your numbers.

– Consider customers, shareholders, team members and community

needs when formulating decisions.

– Care about each other.

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VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP - continue • Diversity: Respect differences among team members, customers and individual

communities:

– Earn mutual trust by supporting our corporate values for promoting

diversity in both the workforce and the company base.

– Take advantage of and learn from different perspectives presented.

– Support the diversity of team members, customers and communities.

– Leverage diversity as a competitive advantage.

Source Ref: VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP: HOW OUR PERSONAL VALUES IMPACT

THE WORKPLACE, KATHERINE W. DEAN, MST, CFP, CIMA (WELLS FARGO), San Francisco

CA Retrieved Sept 30, 2017 from

http://www.valuesbasedleadershipjournal.com/issues/vol1issue1/dean.php

L. Richman 2006 Improving your Project management Skills Chapter 1 The Core Concepts

Unified Theory of Leadership.

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UNIFIED theory of leadership – all activities reduced to

3 fundamental functions!

• Within a unified theory, all activities would reduce to

three fundamental functions of leadership:

• COMMUNICATE - Convey information and evoke responses that indicate

understanding. Two way street!

• MOTIVATE - Stimulate or influence another to perform to one’s highest level

• SOLVE PROBLEMS - Overcome the obstacles, do your best at all cost!

Leaders will still need to perform managerial FUNCTIONS!

• Planning - As PMs we know what this means. You start with your project

objectives and create the master schedule – roles and responsibilities – risks

management

• Directing and Communicating - brings together the human resources. From a

managerial perspective, human resources are first seen as the number and mix of

individuals in terms of skills, competency levels, physical and logical location, and

costs per unit of time.

• Organizing - brings together the nonhuman resources needed to achieve the

project's objectives. To organize is to manage the procurement life cycle. It begins

with the need to define requirements for material, equipment, space, and supplies.

It also identifies sources of supply, ordering, reception, storage, distribution,

security, and disposal activities.

• Staffing - brings together the human resources. From a managerial perspective,

human resources are first seen as the number and mix of individuals in terms of

skills, competency levels, physical and logical location, and costs per unit of time.

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Cont..Leaders will still need to perform managerial functions

• Controlling - the process of measuring progress toward an objective, evaluating

what remains to be done, and taking the necessary corrective action to achieve the

objectives. In project management terms, it involves determining variances from the

approved plan, then taking action to correct those variances. And

• Coordinating - the act of synchronizing activities to ensure they are carried out in

relation to their importance and with a minimum of conflict. When two or more

entities compete for the same resource—time, space, money, people, etc.—there is a

need for coordination. The primary mechanism of coordination is prioritization.

• THE END…………….

Tip on where to go for fun for IT Pros and IT enthusiasts

• For fun - go visit the

Computer History Museum - established in 1996 in Mountain View CA

• See exhibits presented in sequence of events - like a story presented

with artifacts, pictures notations, etc,

• from the abacus, the Eniac in the 1940’s… and continued on up to the

smart phones and AI powered PA -

• It was fun going there early this year.

• WHERE:

• Address: 1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043

• Hours:

• Open · 10AM–5PM

• Phone: (650) 810-1010

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Reference List

• PMI (2013) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK),

Fifth Edition. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania:Project Management Institute

• Richard, L., Hughes, Robert, C., Ginnett, Gordy, J., Curphy. (2015). Leadership:

Enhancing the Lessons of Experience Eight Edition. McGraw-Hill Education, New

York ISBN 978-0-07-786240-4

• Daniel Goleman (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Trade, paperback edition

ISBN 0-553-37506-7

• Steven W. Flannes and Ginger Levin (2005) Essential People Skills for Project

Managers by Management Concepts 2005ISBN:9781567261684

Internet Source

Glen, P. (2013). Geeks love problems, so give them some. Computerworld, 47(11), 56.

Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/1399107513?accountid=2796

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