remote manager credibility (was: manager credibility)

["Ned Bedinger" <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>]

Edwin--

Let me know if this helps:

http://www.att.com/canadawebzine/08_feature.html


I gather there are two fronts where you have
management issues:  leadership/management
dichotomy, and a need for a shift in the
motivation/rewards model.  Still, the specific
scenario(s) you're refering to mysterious. This is
a topic I, with a wealth of battle experience as a
remote tech writing employee, take very seriously.

Myself, I need nothing more than a 12"-wide ledge,
a 'net connection and cell phone for comms, a seat
at the right height, and a laptop, and I will lose
myself in work for 12+ hours a day.  No manager or
"vision-thing" leader can come as close to
motivating me as a challenging project and a
decent work environment (quiet). I just happen to
love to work at what I love to do.
Stick-and-carrot school of managers are more
likely to de-motivate me. Gawd I hate that.  Just
let me blast through my work, in my way, and
they'll get the results we settled on at the
outset.

Managers often declare that writers have to be in
the office to discuss project with engineers or
other clients.  This is the weakest load of
nonsense ever since the world began.  But a real
sticking point for managers who can't bring
themselves to manage virtual employees.

Now come on Edwin.  Dish.  The future
of telecommuting may depend on it.

I'd still like to know about specific issues
you're identifying.  Is this a case where your
company (like ATT) has embraced  the value of
remote workers but your manager can't get
the hang of it?  Maybe s/he tries to use you
remote arrangement as leverage ("If you don't make
the deadline I'm getting rid of remote workers and
putting the team back in the office")

I'd be gratified if you would follow up again.


--Ned

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edwin Dahlquist" <Edwin -dot- Dahlquist -at- asu -dot- edu>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 9:33 AM
Subject: manager credibility


>
> In your opinion, what factors would establish,
maintain, or diminish the
> credicility of a manager in a virtual team
environment? What factors would
> motivate you to "do your best to accomplish
tasks"? Specifically, while
> emergent leadership and willingness to
communicate are strong factors in co-
> located teams (the one who talks most and talks
loudest usually becomes the de
> facto "leader"), they are much less so in
virtual teams. I would appreciate
> your opinions on the matter.
>
> I think that the overwhelming majority of
current managers are incompetent to
> manage virtual teams, that an entirely different
skill set is necessary,
> particularly with a highly skilled workforce,
and that the reliance
> on "mandated by the powers from above"
managerial techniques diminishes both
> the interest in, and capacity to, learn new
methods of management appropriate
> to a virtual environment. That is detrimental to
the organization, to the
> managers, and to the team members.
>
> This is 2004, and a highly competitive global
economy. Managerial "techniques"
> based on the premise that "you have to do what I
tell you to do because I'm the
> mommy" are as obsolete as "my way or the
highway." Pushing and leading are
> fundamentally different activities, and the
majority of managers seem stuck on
> the idea of authoritarian techniques;
specifically, those managers are
> incompetent to manage virtual teams of highly
skilled individuals in
> geographically dispersed locations.
> Thanks,
> Edwin


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROBOHELP X5 - ALL NEW VERSION!! 

Have you tried the latest in Help Authoring from RoboHelp?
Try ROBOHELP X5 for Free - Now with Word 2003 support, Content 
Management, Multi-Author support, PDF and XML support and much more! 

Download a free trial today: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.