have to wait for some kind of a quarterly review. You have an easy, conversational discussion about how things are going for you as the employee and for you as the manager that week. I find one-on-ones are incredibly valuable. The managers I know who do one-on-ones have no trouble writing performance evaluations. And the people who work for them are much, much happier. So, I think that is a huge piece that you can really capitalize on.
I think the other thing is to just assume that people know how to do their job. A lot of us came up through the technical ranks and it is so easy to say, "Oh, I know enough about this, I could give people help." Well, your people might not want help, especially if you are a new manager. They might want to show you what they are capable of doing. So, assume people know how to do their jobs and make sure that they have the tools that they need to do their jobs, and then check in with them and say how is it going doing your job. That is one of the other points of the one-on-one.
The one last piece that I wanted to mention was to make sure that you treat people the way they want to be treated. Not everyone likes public recognition. Not everyone likes private recognition. So, understanding what people want out of their job and figuring out a way to treat them appropriately, I think is another huge piece of being a good test manager. Especially, where testers tend to be the ones who come in at the end of the project. They might not get the same glory under normal circumstances as the developers do. Figure out what it is that these people really want out of their jobs. How do they want to be rewarded and recognized and then figure out a way to do that.
Carol: And I think that is good advice for any manager.
Johanna: I think so too. But, I think especially, a lot of organizations put the test management and the testing organization in a support role or a services role. I think especially if you have come out of development and now you are in a services organization, it feels really strange, so it is especially helpful there.
Carol: I think that is good advice. I think that Pam will do well. One of the things that managers often do not do is ask questions because we have this perception that if you are in management, you know how to manage people. That is not necessarily the case. I think we grow into the role and we can really learn from the people who are underneath us, and we are not necessarily a boss, we just happen to have that position.
Johanna: Well there is a real difference, I think, between being a boss in the typical term, the typical sense, and being a really good manager. I think that being a manager means being a colleague as well as being a supervisor. It is just the skills that I bring to this collegial relationship are different. My job is to provide leverage. The way that I provide leverage is by finding out what people are doing by giving them enough information to do their jobs. By not withholding information that they need, and by treating them with respect, by treating them as human beings. I find that is just how it works for me.
Carol: Now, how is Pam going to overcome the tendency
About the author
Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” helps organizational leaders see problems and risks in their product development. She helps them recognize potential “gotchas,” seize opportunities, and remove impediments. Johanna was the Agile 2009 conference chair. She is the technical editor for Agile Connection and the author of these books:
- Manage Your Job Search
- Hiring Geeks That Fit
- Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects
- The 2008 Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management
- Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management
- Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds: The Secrets and Science of Hiring Technical People
Johanna is working on a book about agile program management. She writes columns for Stickyminds.com and projectmanagementcom and blogs on her website, jrothman.com, as well on createadaptablelife.com.
