The Cranky Middle Manager Show #205 Managing Clever People with Rob Goffee
Cranky Middle Manager Wayne Turmel talks to Rob Goffee about his book Clever- Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People. Of course, I’m supremely unqualified to do so, but we have fun anyway. Also, how the Trojan War makes the same point, and watch for a new “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” webinar workshop coming next month.
Rob Goffee, looking awfully clever himself
There are two Greatwebmeetings.com webinars coming up.
September 1 at 2 PM Central Time: Webinar 101 presented by Netbriefings. Click here for more information and to register FREE
September 23 How Speakers and Meeting Planners Can Use Webinars to Boost Their Business, presented by Telenect. Click here for more information and to register FREE
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. Today we look at managing the really smartest, most talented people we have. They add value, but they can be a real pain. Our dedication is to King Menelaus, who knew a thing or two about that problem during the Trojan War.
2:30 The quote of the week is from Naquib Mahfouz - clever is one thing, wise is another. Few people are both.
3:08 Welcome Rob Goffee to the show. He and his co-author Gareth Jones have written about managing clever people…what do we mean by clever and how is that different from just plain smart? They tend to add more value than most employees, tend to smarter and expect to be treated differently. They can also be a management nightmare if mishandled. The good news is that most of them need organizations, even if they act like they don’t.
6:18 There’s a business case to be made for handling these people differently than most , and most of that handling means leaving them alone to do what they do. Less management is more.
9:34 How do you keep your “clevers” motivated while not hurting the rest of the team. The term “benevlolent guardian” is appropriate. Rob explains it better than I do.
14:58 Why do so many superstars make lousy managers and why do companies insist on trying to make them fit that role? We mention Donato Bramante trying to manage Michelangelo. You can learn more back in Episode 35 if you’re so inclined.
19:45 How do managers keep their own heads and deal with their own insecurities in dealing with these people who might be smarter than they are? Start by acknowledging what they’re good at. And now you have to put together a team of Superstars which is it’s own nightmare.
Rob’s Resources
September 6th, 2009 at 5:05 am
[...] opinion with last week’s guest over the most talented people. (If you haven’t heard it, listen to Rob Goffee’s cranky show here). The best and brightest don’t always get you the results you need and frequently they cause [...]