PROJECT DRIVEN VS. PEOPLE DRIVEN TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT

Transcription

1 BIO PRESENTATION T4 September 22, :00 PM PROJECT DRIVEN VS. PEOPLE DRIVEN TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT Marty King Hospira, Inc. BETTER SOFTWARE CONFERENCE & EXPO 2005 September 22, 2005 Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport San Francisco, California, USA

2 Marty King Marty King is a systems engineer at Hospira, Inc., which is a recent spin-off of Abbott Labs. He received his BSEE and MSEE degree from Marquette University with an emphasis in biomedical engineering. He has enjoyed working in the embedded devices field in the areas of software, verification and hardware for over 25 years at Baxter, J&J, Philips Medical, Motorola and Abbott/Hospira. He has over 18 years of technical management experience and has been awarded 11 patents in the field of medical devices. Marty King Hospira, Inc Evening Creek Drive, #200 San Diego, CA marty.king@hospira.com Phone: Fax:

3 Project Driven vs. People Driven Management September 2005 Marty King

4 Experience Hospira, Inc. (spin-off of Abbott Labs in May 2004) Development of hardware and embedded software for over 25 years (Abbott/Hospira, Motorola Cellular, ATL Ultrasound, Philips Medical, J&J, Baxter Healthcare) 18 years of technical management

5 Why talk about management styles? Too little time is spent on this topic. You spend about half of your waking time during the week at work. Great or poor management makes a big difference in your job and life. Work can be a positive, fun experience and good management can make that happen. There is more to management than just being promoted. If you do not think about your style, you will never realize the need to change.

6 Definition of project vs. people driven management Project driven Project goals are the primary considerations at all costs. People are pressured or coerced to accomplish project goals. People driven Building and retaining a good team runs parallel to developing and building a good product. People-centric goals are established and tracked. Management spends time and resources to build and retain a development team.

7 Characteristics of project driven management Numeric and product goals/accomplishments are the only goals that are measured and rewarded. Personal needs and goals are secondary to project needs. The manager does not know team members professional needs or goals. The manager does not take time to get to know the team members as people.

8 Characteristics of project driven management Overtime is the norm rather than the exception and it is expected. Life balance is not encouraged - work is expected to be the main focus of life. Performance appraisals, if done, are only reviewed once per year. Employees are often surprised at performance review time (positive or negative). There is little consideration given to the importance and value of building and retaining a team.

9 Results of project driven management on the team Positive There is recognition and rewards from management at the end of the project if their projects are successful. Negative Employee morale decreases. You will be unable to attract and retain good employees. Your engineering organization gains a poor external reputation.

10 Results of project driven management on project goals Positive Projects will get done as long as employees are retained and they continue to work under pressure. Project goals are the focus. Negative Experienced people may not be there when you start the next project.

11 Results of project driven management on cost The company may experience the high cost of turnover. Cost to hire one engineer 16 engineers hired 200 hours for HR rep = $10,000 (at $50 / hr) 450 hours engineering interview time = $31,500 (at $70 / hr) Recruiting fees = $250,000 Training, time to productivity (4 weeks at $80,000 / year) = $6000 (per engineer) Total cost to hire one engineer = $25,000 (more with relo)

12 Calendar time to hire one engineer Define job, get approval, post, advertise - 1 month Receive, read resumes and conduct phone screens on 10 candidates - 2 months Interview 3 to 5 candidates - 3 weeks Make offer, negotiate, get acceptance - 4 weeks Employee starts - 2 to 4 weeks Elapsed or lost time - 4 to 5 months (often more)

13 Results of people driven management on team People/team know that they are as important as your projects. Management includes enabling, encouraging, and coaching. Team members are empowered, self-managed. Employees learn from their mistakes and are encouraged to try new ideas. Employees are free to make decisions. Employee morale and enthusiasm increases. Employee retention brings a full team to the next project. Retention of employees increases the experience base.

14 Results of people driven management on cost The cost and lost time associated with recruiting and hiring are reduced. You save the cost and time for training. There is savings from having little or no lost time when understaffed. Employees are much more productive when they are happy in their jobs and when they feel appreciated.

15 Why is it hard to focus on people? We focus on what we build and are rewarded for, i.e. Software development, contracting, consulting, etc. Project deadlines, deliverables We focus on what matters to our management team. People-centered goals are not traditionally measured goals. We get too busy with the emergencies and details of our projects.

16 What are the results if we focus on people? Employee morale increases. There is an atmosphere of employee pride. We build and retain a team that can accomplish the product goals. We establish an employee referral base. We value a good physical work environment. We build a positive external reputation for our organization. We build TRUST.

17 Putting people driven management into practice These are basic work activities that we need to elevate in importance. Recruiting, interviewing, hiring, building a reputation Giving honest feedback Complimenting, rewarding Creating the work environment Supporting life balance Dealing with conflict Facilitating the change process

18 Recruiting, interviewing, hiring Clearly define the position requirements. Phone screen every candidate prior to the interview. Involve the engineers in the interview process. Interview for personality fit and technical fit. Be honest with the candidates. If you are no longer interested in the candidate, tell them. Start building TRUST at the phone screen and interview.

19 Positive external reputation aids in recruiting Happy employees will tell their friends about their company. Contractors that you hire will spread the reputation of your company. College job fair recruiting builds awareness and image. Interviewing and hiring interns builds your reputation. Interns will promote your company to their peers. It takes time, effort and planning to build a good reputation.

20 Giving honest feedback Why is it often hard to give honest feedback? Give feedback often. Include positive and negative feedback. Be completely honest with feedback. It is always better to know what is expected in your job. Most employees truly want to do a good job. You are building TRUST.

21 One on one meetings Do employees like one on ones? All will say YES. How often - Once per month for large groups, once per week for small groups. What do you talk about in the meetings? How is the job going? What have you been working on? Do you have any problems or concerns about the job or the projects? Are there any educational opportunities that you are interested in? Is there anything that I can do to help you? Ask about life outside of work - take an interest. These meetings are just as important as product meetings. Schedule them. Do not leave them to chance.

22 Performance appraisals Often seen as that dreaded time at the end of the year. Don t wait for the end of the year but review them quarterly for feedback to employees. Use one of your one on one meetings. There should be NO surprises at the end of the review year.

23 Complimenting and rewarding

24 Why is it hard to give compliments? It may feel awkward. We may feel like we are elevating others above ourselves. We may feel we are losing our power base. Employee may expect other rewards, money, favors, etc. We think they may stop working hard. We may not be used to doing it. We may rarely get compliments.

25 What to compliment Taking ownership of an issue and driving to a solution Expediting an issue by helping others solve their problems Persistent hard work on a problem Exceptional solution to an issue Positively dealing with conflict

26 Results of compliments Think of the last time you were complimented by your boss - how did you feel? It shows the employee that you and others noticed their accomplishment. It is instant reinforcement for a specific job well done. It often means more than monetary rewards. Compliments reinforce positive behavior.

27 Rewards Different types of rewards Monetary Time off Desirable work assignments Peer recognition Public acknowledgement in meetings Corporate awards Notice what your employees value and reward accordingly.

28 Creating a great physical work environment Adequate space and privacy Adequate light, pleasing colors, pleasant aesthetics The right tools to do the job Lack of clutter Cleaning and purging regularly Have scheduled cleaning days

29 Supporting life balance Employees do not really like overtime. Encourage team to take their vacation time. Does time off result in lower productivity? Will you get less done in a year? Encourage your team members to take the time they need when they are ill. Support time off for family special events. Walk the talk - you should live by the same rules. Remember that you are building TRUST.

30 Dealing with conflict In some organizations, conflict is the norm. Conflict produces action and results - a common misconception. Continuous unresolved conflict produces stress. Unresolved conflict destroys trust. Does conflict always have negative results?

31 Sources of conflict Turf wars - somebody else working in my area Credit going to someone else for my accomplishment Being left out of decisions, discussions Having my work changed or redone by someone else My opinions, suggestions are not being considered Sustained stressful work conditions Misunderstanding of a situation Events, situations outside of work that are affecting life

32 Ignore it, it will go away. Diffusing conflict First, seek to understand the issues. Listen - get the information from each party involved. Listen - do not jump to fix-it mode. Listen - hear the other person rather than planning your response. Acknowledge each person s view regardless of whether you agree or not. Give honest feedback. Develop an action plan and track progress. Follow through on your promises, plans. Remember - You are building TRUST.

33 Facilitating change Face reality - Engineers hate change. Seek buy-in, feedback from the employees while planning changes. Don t change everything at once. Make small changes over time. Solicit feedback after deploying and make suggested adjustments when appropriate.

34 Leadership and power Lets ask ourselves the following: Why do my employees follow me? Do they follow willingly or reluctantly? Are they actually following me at all? What is the source of my leadership and power?

35 Sources of power Coercive power - creating fear so that employees will comply Utility power - providing benefits to the employees if they comply (money, promotion, security, etc.) Legitimate power or people-centered power - Creating an employee environment where their leader serves them, listens to them, respects, trusts and encourages them. They follow because the leader has built TRUST. Reference - Principle Centered Leadership - Stephen Covey

36 Creating Fear, Providing Benefits Fear Overstating the consequences of a missed deadline Threatening employee job security Failing to communicate during stressful times Continual impossible deadlines Benefits Promises of bonuses, job security Promises of promotions, honor Mutual benefits for boss and employee

37 Next Step: Ask yourself these questions Do you lead by creating fear to get your team to comply? Do you lead by promising money or security for your team? How often do you meet with each member of your group? Are the 1/1 meetings on your calendar? How often do you compliment or say Thank You? Do you regularly give your team honest feedback? Do you know your employees career goals, struggles? How much time do you spend informally getting to know your employees?

38 Becoming a more people-centered leader Communicate regularly with each employee. Schedule your one on one meetings. Don t leave them to chance. Model honest communication by always giving honest feedback. Acknowledge good work daily - compliment and say thank you. Provide opportunities for team members to present their victories to the others.

39 Becoming a more people-centered leader Make needed changes to the physical environment. Encourage and support life balance. Deal with conflict quickly, honestly. Elevate the needs and concerns of your employees in your work day. Realize that you are building TRUST every day.

40 Questions/Comments