Leading Geeks

Can they actually be led?

Category Archives: care and feeding

On Crisis Fatigue

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on June 17, 2009

I’m not (usually) horrifically rude, but I happened to glance at the page of the woman next to me on the bus this morning and saw the words “crisis fatigue” at the top of one of her lists. Then I stopped reading and started typing this (honest!) because it got me thinking about the impact [...]

care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks

On Transparency, Part III

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on May 15, 2009

To continue my omphaloskepsis on transparency, I find myself asking the question, “Why bother if they don’t even look for the information?” A comment on my last post pointed out that the meeting wasn’t the point–the availability of the information was. While I certainly agree, I should mention that nearly all the information was already [...]

care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks

On Transparency, Part II

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on May 5, 2009

My apologies for the 2-week gap; I’ve been developing content for a blog that will launch mid-May. But on to the subject: transparency. Again. In Part I, I discussed opening up my master project list to my peers and the anxiety that provoked. Now I’ll be talking about transparency inside my own department. As the [...]

care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks, teambuilding

Why IT Goes Nuts Sometimes

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on March 17, 2009

I still have lots of thoughts on the transparency discussion going on in my brain; eventually they will become a useful blog post. However, I just thought I’d share briefly on why I go nuts sometimes… So it’s time for us to renew an SSL certificate. How do I find out? The email goes to [...]

about, care and feeding, leading geeks

On Information

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on March 9, 2009

Years ago, a friend’s parents told me a story of when they decided that he could and should start taking responsibility for his own decisions. At the end of winter break, they decided to let him make the call of when to leave for the airport for the plane back to Boston. They asked him [...]

care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks, managing up

On Being Content

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on February 18, 2009

Last night, I was talking to my mom on the phone. She mentioned one of my sisters, who is now at week 36 of her pregnancy, and apparently is carrying very awkwardly (“toothpick with a beach ball” was the description). My mom said, “You know her, though. She doesn’t really complain.” This sister (I have [...]

about, care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks

Dear Geeks:

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on January 27, 2009

(Before anyone gets excited, this is not intended for or aimed at any specific geek or non-geek who has ever worked for, around, or with me. It was originally inspired by this and this, although it isn’t the same format. Thank you.) An open letter to geeks, from a geek leader: I like you. I [...]

care and feeding, ethics, leading geeks

On Misery

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on January 12, 2009

Ever notice that a lot of geeks seem pretty miserable? You know, down-in-the dumps, put-upon, generally grouchy? Well, according to this article, 1/4 of geeks in small and mid-size businesses have suffered verbal or physical abuse at work, many work hours outside business hours (uh, duh!), and some are looking to leave the field. While [...]

care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks

On Training

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on January 5, 2009

My first technology job was as a computer training specialist for a health and human services company. I was terrible. I’ve been under the impression for the past decade or so that I was terrible because I dislike telling people how to do something more than once. Turns out that I was wrong. I was [...]

about, care and feeding, general leadership, leading geeks

On My Values

Leave a Comment Posted by Jenn Steele on December 16, 2008

My values as an IT Director and as a human being: Everyone is equally deserving of my respect (until they do something pretty extreme to lose it). My staff, my co-w0rkers, the end-users at my firm, my family, complete strangers across the world, and absolutely everyone is a valuable person to me. My references to [...]

about, care and feeding, ethics, general leadership, leading geeks, teambuilding

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