Are Tech Leadership People

Special?
Do they need to be managed differently
from the rest of your staff?

Do they need to be managed differently

from the rest of your staff?
This article sets out to answer three questions:
1. Do they need to be managed differently from the rest of your staff?
2. Are Tech people really different from the rest of an organizations employees?
3. That unkempt antisocial geek in the corner is your best programmer. Do you
let him do what he does best or counsel him to fit your ideal employee profile?
Before I try to answer these, allow me to clarify some of the terms and tools I am
using so that we completely understand each other:

Consider Character & Competency

Allow me to briefly lay out the terms I use so that
you understand how I am using the terms of
character, competencY and competencE
When I embarked on my doctoral research it was
apparent that nobody could really agree if
competence and competency were the same thing.
And then theres a whole debate about whether we
need to BE a leader or should we DO leadership.
This paper is not intended to open that particular
debate, though you can contact me if you would like
to read the rather turgid academic paper I wrote on
this subject

Are Tech People Special?

This article sets out to answer three

questions: ......................................... 2
Consider Character & Competency2
Brief overview of the 9 Characters
of Leadership.................................... 4
Tech Team Leadership Roles ......... 5
Tech Strengths and Weaknesses ... 8
Do Tech have a different Mindset? 9
Tech people are different ............. 12
So how? ........................................... 12
Are Tech people special? .............. 13

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I consider CHARACTER to be the way we are human BEINGS. The elements of our
personal make up, our genetic inheritance, upbringing, and environment and so
on all these help create our character.
The way we do things that, I consider to be our competencies. The way we do
things changing over time and adapts to our context and environment and may,
or may not, support the way we DO our actual job.
How we execute the tasks that are our job, I regards as competence.
It is these three, working in combination that generates our
performance.
The combinations of individual efforts are the organization activities and generate
organizational performance.
I shall start by looking at whether IT people show a different character, then share
their differences in competencies and lastly, the ever so important, so what?
part and answer the question posed with some advice on what you can do now.

Are Tech People Special?

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Brief overview of the 9 Characters of Leadership

Id like you to think of your effectiveness in your role within a team as the
interplay of your own character and competency. Well ignore the job specific
competences someone in IT needs as these are all very different according to the
project in hand.
The greater your competency the more effective you are
The deeper your character the more effective you can be.
In our research we have found that individuals can be considered as having one of
nine dominant characteristics:
Compliant these individuals
show some aptitude for
leadership in their role, and
some depth of character
though essentially they are
doers of their job.
Controllers have greater
aptitude for leadership than
Compliant and very often like
to keep control of their own
domain.
Conquerors are often more
aggressive. Very good at
DOING leadership things, but with a winner takes all attitude.
Connectors like to connect with people. We find that there are two versions of
connector: The giver (at their own expense) and the taker (at others expense).
Cavaliers are the idea people the mavericks if you like. Highly focused on
other people though not especially fussed about the best way of DOING
leadership things.
Conductors like an orchestra conductor with their back to the audience, they
draw people together and create harmony and agreement.
Craftsman (yes I am coming back to conjurors) have great leadership aptitude
and work well with others. Imagine the Master/apprentice relationship as an
example.
Chess players are the strategists and planners of the team. Great at doing
leadership and with a string character.
Conjurors are the leaders in the middle. 360 leaders if you will. They have one of
the toughest leadership roles because they have a boss (often several bosses in
Are Tech People Special?

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IT) and a team to lead, and customers, and suppliers and colleagues. They are the
glue of any team and organization, and in this world, make up the majority of
middle management throughout the world. Good enough at DOING leadership
and good enough at BEING a leader.
TO be at its most effective, any team needs people in each of these roles. Any role
that is lacking is like riding a bicycle with a buckled wheel. You can still make it
happen, but its hard work and less rapid than a well balanced team.

A note about the Data

Data submitted are self-assessments using GAPPS or MECA tools

All data submitted between 2006 and 2015

All subjects based in Asia/Aus/NZ.

78% of all subjects in South East Asia

Data is reported at .05 Significance

Tech Team Leadership

Roles
When we analyzed the different roles in
our Tech group, we split between Tech
staff, managers and senior managers,
and because this is a paper to support
a seminar for CIOs, well CIOs and CTOs.
It is reasonable to assume that staff
members are more likely to be in the
bottom left hand quadrant after all,
they are independent and not leaders
right?
Managers in the middle, well, wed anticipate them to be in the middle, around
Conjuror. CIOs we can expect them to be the strategists and planners.
To a certain extent, this is true, but do note none are Cavaliers!

Are Tech People Special?

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TECH SHOWS SOME POSSIBLE DIFFERENCES TO WHAT WE MIGHT REASONABLY

EXPECT, BUT ARE THEY SPECIAL?

Tech Roles and Ops Roles

How do Tech teams compare to Operations as an example. Both functions serve

the organization. Both may, or may not have direct customer facing roles, they are
predominantly back end supporting functions.
Operations appears to be more evenly spread and closer to what we might
expect Tech is certainly different then.
ARE THEY SPECIAL ?

Are Tech People Special?

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Tech and Operations Teams Compared

Both Tech and
operations are heavy
in the middle, both are
light on Craftsmen.
But Tech has no
Cavaliers.
IS THIS SPECIAL ?

Are Tech People Special?

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Tech Strengths and Weaknesses

What does this tell us?
If this is typical of a Tech team and our research suggests that it is, just that
within a single Tech team of about 20-25 individuals the differences are not
statistically significant.
We would expect these strengths to be manifest
Well-disciplined, efficient and practical

Make good use of group, draw team together

Co-operative, averting friction

Quick to explore new opportunities (new projects that excite!)

Single minded and professional dedicated

In particular, Tech teams are seen to be more cooperative than any other
organization team. They are more disciplined than others teams (including
finance)
When we coach Tech people, one word (and its variants) is repeated Pride. Pride
in a good job, in solving a difficult problem, in keeping up to speed with the latest
technologies
And these weaknesses.
Lack creativity, think within the box and accept everyday realities as cast iron.

May be seen as uninspiring or slow-moving

Indecisive when lack data

May be weak on follow-through

Limited in interests

When we talk to other people about their Tech folk, the biggest gripe is about how
long it takes for them to fix a simple issue.
NOW WE MIGHT CONSIDER THAT TECH IS SPECIAL .

Are Tech People Special?

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Do Tech have a different Mindset?

A quick introduction to Mindset.
Mindset is about your BELIEF as to whether your abilities are fixed (i.e.
personality, intelligence, traits, abilities, talents cannot be improved upon)
Or, you can believe that you can achieve (almost) anything you desire to achieve
through effort and practice. This is a growth mindset.
For more on Mindset, do read Carol Dwecks excellent book entitle Mindset, on
her research. If it doesnt change your life, it might give your kids the lift they need
from you.

Tech show just over 60% are Fixed Mindset, whilst Operations are evenly
split.
So what does this mean?
More Tech people have a fixed mindset. They believe that they are x intelligent,
and have a y personality and z traits that they can do nothing about. Most
importantly, if a specific task or project is beyond their BELIEVED abilities, Tech
people are more likely to give up and avoid the problem (often by finding
something else more urgent to do).
I want to stress here. This is a BELIEF about how we are. And you can change a
belief.
SO MAYBE TECH IS REALLY A SPECIAL CASE.

Are Tech People Special?

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Leadership Competencies
What about Tech competencies then?
Remember these competencies are not their technical knowledge and abilities or
skills, rather their team leadership competencies.
In our research, we have analyzed and discovered what makes someone
successful in their role.
We define leadership success as: "Behaving in a congruent and righteous way
that generates a sustainable superior return on investment."
Behaving: your manifest actions and words.
Congruent: in accordance with stated and unstated beliefs and values
Righteous: acting in an upright, moral and virtuous way (within the context of the
environment)
Sustainable: able to maintained or kept going
Superior return on investment: continuously returning greater benefit to the
organization and/or people than the investment in time, money, effort. i.e. a
greater ROI than most other leaders.
Identifying those individuals who have achieved success in particular functions,
we know the zone for their competencies.

Analyzing Tech on this benchmark shows that some are above, some below the
zone and many within the zone.
The red columns here suggest that something may be amiss. So lets look at this
more closely.
Are Tech People Special?

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Significant Competency Issues

For Tech people, there are potential issues in so many being weaker than a
successful Tech person in three Applied intellectual competencies, and three
emotional intelligence competencies.
The three Intellectual Competencies of concern are:
Critical Analysis and Judgment

Strategic Perspective and

Vision and Imagination.

Dont get me wrong here, Tech people are usually very good at analysis so long
as its numbers and so long as its logical. The most frequent complaint we hear
from CEOs and even CIOs is that their people dont think about the whole
(business) picture. And this frustrates people in other parts of the business.
The second biggest compliant we hear from peers and staff on other departments
about Tech is that they only say yes when it fits with the existing systems or
processes.
The three EQ competencies of concern are:
Engaging Communications

Self-Awareness, and

Interpersonal Sensitivity

Are Tech People Special?

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Tech people are different

Tech people speak in a jargon of their own, and they laugh at jokes nobody else thinks is
funny
That unkempt antisocial geek in the corner is your best programmer
Lets face it, Tech people consider Dilbert to be a guru.

So how?
So what do you do about it?
TECH ARE CERTAINLY DIFFERENT.
Without your Tech people, your business would die! Even if your business could
go back to paper and pencil, can the stock exchange?
So if Tech are different and you need them, whether they are special or not is
more label to try and make them (and you) feel good about your difference. So if
it makes you and your team feel good then youre special.
If, on the other hand, special makes you think special needs and doesnt make
you feel good, then, no youre just essential.

Tech does need to communicate empathetically and honestly with the rest of
the organization and understand the whole business perspective.

The need to transition from a technology led thinking to a business led

thinking

These can be trained.

So you, and by you I do mean you personally. Need to develop the leaders in
your Tech team by mentoring them.
1. Firstly, help them shift their mindset to a growth mindset (if they are fixed)
a. Then make certain they understand that this wont happen after an
event its a daily process.
b. Now mentor them.
i. In particular, in how to lead up effectively the chances are very
high that currently your middle managers do not know when to
push back at you and when they should back off you can help
them.
2. Secondly, help them in leading across the organization in particular, letting
the best idea win no matter what technological headaches it is about to
Are Tech People Special?

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cause its still the best idea and the fact that it came from the spotty
teenager in accounts does not make it a bad idea.

Are Tech people special?

Do they need to be managed differently from the rest of your staff?

o YES

Are Tech people really different from the rest of an organizations employees?
o YES

That unkempt antisocial geek in the corner is your best programmer. Do you
let him do what he does best or counsel him to fit your ideal employee profile?
o NO! YOU MENTOR HIM TO BE THE BEST THAT HE CAN BE IN HIS JOB AND
DEVELOP HIM AS A PERSON

To develop your special Tech people, contact me today. Youll find my contact
details on the back page.

Are Tech People Special?

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