Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead People Who Deliver Technology

Part 2. The Content of Geek Leadership

Part Two examines the question of what geek leaders do using the second of the two major models that organize this book: the Content of Geek Leadership (Figure 1). This model outlines the four key responsibilities of geek leaders—the things that they do on a day-to-day basis that energize geeks, enable productivity, and align geekwork with the needs of the organization:

• Nurture motivation

• Provide internal facilitation

• Furnish external representation

• Manage ambiguity

Let's briefly introduce each of the responsibilities outlined in the model.

Nurture Motivation

The first of the four responsibilities is to nurture motivation among geeks. Most leaders want to inspire their followers, to spur them to action. Geek leaders ...