5 ms·

>have empathy and have more of people skill than technical or design skills The problematic ones i've seen had some people skills, or they were thinking they h

by Arwill 9y ago

>have empathy and have more of people skill than technical or design skills The problematic ones i've seen had some people skills, or they were thinking they had. The problem was when they did not understand engineering problems, and were thinking that everything was a people problem/issue. So they either assume that the developers are lazy, or they simply can't accept that the engineer can have some real objective concerns. So its either they don't understand however hard you try to explain or they try to understand it is a people/personal problem, when it is not.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Brajeshwar 9y ago
Experienced managers do have an idea of engineering problems because they have seen it before - seen it happen, seen it solved, et al. A manager that does not appreciate engineering problems either just graduated from a management course or is someone who never got involved deeply with a team. A manager has to answer to multiple people — clients, upper management, stakeholders, Jira. Unfortunately, she is totally dependent on this teams to get things done. She is utterly handicapped when it comes to doing anything useful, read, "engineering". Which is when most managers break and shows their character — they either break, blames people, do not listen, do not understand or they figure out who can help, seek help and find the right person to get things done. Well, engineers, sometimes get it easy — they just have to solve a problem and make 2+2 = 4. They answer to one person; perhaps the manager. Think of the manager and to whom she is reporting and taking the fall. If the team does not get things done, they're the ones usually blamed. In the early days of my career, I used to think that managers, middle managers are pretty useless. Now, I believe everyone has their roles to play a part in the whole machinery of 'the cogwheel'.
darkerside 9y ago
> can't accept that the engineer can have some real objective concerns This is the opposite of people skills. If a report has a concern that doesn't seem to make sense, it is the manager's job to help them structure a clear explanation of the problem, help identify the best solutions for said problem, and collaborate with stakeholders to pick the right solution based on trade offs they are comfortable with. To be fair, to an entry level report, that process--unless done in a truly excellent way--often does seem like a lack of sympathy or empathy for the developer's challenge.

by Arwill 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Brajeshwar 9y ago

Experienced managers do have an idea of engineering problems because they have seen it before - seen it happen, seen it solved, et al. A manager that does not appreciate engineering problems either just graduated from a management course or is someone who never got involved deeply with a team. A manager has to answer to multiple people — clients, upper management, stakeholders, Jira. Unfortunately, she is totally dependent on this teams to get things done. She is utterly handicapped when it comes to doing anything useful, read, "engineering". Which is when most managers break and shows their character — they either break, blames people, do not listen, do not understand or they figure out who can help, seek help and find the right person to get things done. Well, engineers, sometimes get it easy — they just have to solve a problem and make 2+2 = 4. They answer to one person; perhaps the manager. Think of the manager and to whom she is reporting and taking the fall. If the team does not get things done, they're the ones usually blamed. In the early days of my career, I used to think that managers, middle managers are pretty useless. Now, I believe everyone has their roles to play a part in the whole machinery of 'the cogwheel'.

darkerside 9y ago

> can't accept that the engineer can have some real objective concerns This is the opposite of people skills. If a report has a concern that doesn't seem to make sense, it is the manager's job to help them structure a clear explanation of the problem, help identify the best solutions for said problem, and collaborate with stakeholders to pick the right solution based on trade offs they are comfortable with. To be fair, to an entry level report, that process--unless done in a truly excellent way--often does seem like a lack of sympathy or empathy for the developer's challenge.