“So, in your mind, Edmund is not a hero?” I prodded.
Ruben shook his head. “No, and what’s maddening is that Edmund, as a supervisor, keeps describing his behavior as results oriented. It’s all about the results, he says. So, maybe he delivers, but there are body bags all over the place.”
“So, notwithstanding the results, how would you describe his effectiveness, as a supervisor? Thumbs up? Or thumbs down?”
Ruben laughed. “You know, that’s it. Effectiveness. If I can judge his effectiveness, it’s thumbs down. A supervisor is not effective when he ignores the metrics, skips steps in the process, then works overtime to save the day when the system breaks down.”
The indispensable “Hero” comes with many projects, if not most, particularly when we are talking software projects. He’s the guy that is the one “critical†person seen as the clear top programmer, and all important work is sent through him. He may have a unique skill or experience, but he may also sometimes hoard information so all tasks that rely on it must go through him. This is the guy who is always working long hours – and causing bottlenecks, whether it be malicious or not.
I recomend using Reviews, especially code reviews, to help remove the bottleneck often caused by the “Hero” of the project. Reviews can help the “hero” spread expertise and knowledge to other team members.
jas
Edmund is where he is certainly because he was deemed most capable “production guy” within the unit – typical case of promotion from within. However, in case he does not deliver results, then he should be treated as the one causing the chaos by not following the processes.
We also have our own Edmund and the best I could do so far is had our QA head sit with him and tailor the process according to his feedback and then set up a mechanism where metrics and process adherence will be checked twice a month and he will be given feedback. At least, this time he can’t complain because this is “his” process.
“If you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, he’ll jump out. But if you place a frog into a pot of lukewarm water and slowly turn up the heat, it will boil to death.” – I have asked our QA department to slowly tighten the grip and get our Edmund into obedience mode first.
Not sure if it will work!