Title:  Management Philosophy
Date:  20200130
Tags:  me work
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This is my management philosophy.  I hope I'm living up to it.  Most of this
I've learned by working for managers, not by being one.  From both positive and
negative experiences.  Maybe I'm wrong in some respects and don't have the years
of experience to know, yet.


I work for my team, not my bosses (I have 3.  Maybe 4.  We have a weird
structure.  Just go with it).

I protect my team from those bosses.

It's a support team so we have a group of users we work with.  I work for those
users, too, by building a team with the right expertise and resources and
enabling that team to use them.

I will fight for those resources that enable my team to support the group.

My team is made of people.  They aren't company drones.  Life takes precedence
over work (within reason).

Unreasonable demands of the team by the company will be fought against.

I will do the fighting.  I take the bullets.

My team are the experts.  My bosses don't tell them what they should do, the
team tells the bosses what should be done.  I will take up that fight.

I trust the team to know what they're doing.  That's why I hired them.

I should help my team be happy.

People like to learn.  People like to work on things they enjoy.  I will give
them those opportunities.

Sometimes the desires of a person doesn't match the opportunities I can provide
and they want to leave.  I support that desire.

I am not just helping a team member in this job, I am helping with their career,
even if it sends them to work somewhere else.

I try to stay knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the work.  I can't
make decisions if I don't understand what the team is doing.

I will listen to the team when they explain the technology they are using.  They
are the experts.


My priorities:

The users.  They are whole reason we are there.
The team.  They have the expertise and do the work.  They are why I am there.
Me.  It'd be nice if I enjoyed what I was doing, too. :)
The bosses (the company).  They keep us all employed, we should be supporting
their overall goals.