RE: Re: Do C-Level managers, and business drivers really need to know about XP?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ron Jeffries [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 2:37 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [xpAdoption] Re: Do C-Level managers, and 
> business drivers
> really need to know about XP?
> 
> 
> On Monday, February 10, 2003, at 4:23:52 PM, Steve Ropa wrote:
> 
> > How does one who intends to be "empowering" avoid being seen as
> > abdicating? I have tried very hard to be an empowering manager at my
> > current place of employment. During annual review time, I got almost
> > universal feedback that I was "not directing them enough". 
> This feedback
> > was from my team members, not my boss. Of course, Rapid 
> Feedback would
> > have helped that tremendously, but I couldn't sell anyone on it! :-)
> 
> Of course not. But now you have feedback. So ask them. 
> Meanwhile, I'd ask
> you, for starters ...


> 
> How are you assigning work? What ways do you use to let 
> people know what
> you'll see as success? What are your styles of offering help? 
> What are your
> approaches to receiving, and even inviting questions? What 
> ways do you use
> to be sure that people have opportunity to ask questions and get the
> direction they need?
I started by putting up a list of opportunities and asking people to sign up for work.  I did it in "unattended mode" and came back to find a lot of blank stares and nothing signed up for...so I then went back to the more old fashioned way of finding someone who is available, then discussing the project with them.  I made it very clear that it was their decision to accept or decline the work, but nobody ever declined.

My approaches to recieving and inviting questions:  I have used the Management By Walking Around(MBWA), until it seemed to some folks that I was hovering, so I backed off.  In other companies that was the most successful form.  I would never ask "how is project x" or even "how are you doing?".  I always started with some sort of conversation not about work.  It was received very well, and when someone had something about work they wanted to discuss, they new I was there to offer them the opportunity to bring it up.  We are in cubeville, so we don't have to worry about closed doors or anything.  I would prefer open space, but there isn't much acceptance to that idea here.  I offer help either on a "stop by any time" or by visiting.  Some folks are more comfortable with email.  

My definition of success was that they enjoyed what they were doing, did it the best they could, and grew in the process.  Before I got here, it was drilled into their heads that success was defined by the number of billable hours they worked.  The bonus structure was based on how much overtime they worked.

In essence, I came into the organization planning on migrating it to XP.  The resistance I received was from the programmers, not the c-levels.  I tried allowing the team to self organize, until they asked me to please just tell them what to do.  Obviously, while I thought I was being empowering, I was being percieved as abdicating.  One guy went as far as saying "stop trying to sell us on XP.  Just tell us that's how we have to do things, and what the penalties are for not doing them that way."

Therein lies my dilemna.  How do you strike the right balance?  Is it entirely determined by the team?  They want high command and control, because that is their current comfort zone.  I am not particularly comfortable running a development shop like a military department.  Should I have rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty?



> 
> > I guess my point is that the tricky part is finding the 
> balance. Even
> > then, somebody will come back with the idea that you either 
> abdicated too
> > much, or controlled too much.
> 
> Yeah, well.
> 
> Ron Jeffries
> www.XProgramming.com
> Talent determines how fast you get good, not how good you 
> get.  -- Richard Gabriel
> 
> 


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