I have been assigned a new report who is a very experienced and skilled engineer who has spent the last 20+ years working on projects where he was the only contributor in his field. That is, there were others in the team, but he was the only one designing the software and hardware portion.
His current project is now running very late (>6m on an 18m project). He simply cannot do it all. Even if we give him another year.
I need to get him to share with me as his manager, and then with others who can help, all the tasks and issues that he has on his plate.
I (and others) have tried to work with him but he just does not get 'Team'. He seems to struggle with the whole idea of two people being able to work on the same piece of code or hardware. He says that by the time he explains it he might as well do it himself.
Any suggestions (or suitable pod casts)?
You've got a bigger problem
You've got a bigger problem than you may realize, you have a huge business continuity risk. Relying one person doing the software and hardware with no one else who understands it is a recipe for disaster. You need to have someone else QA checking/unit testing his work. You need ensure proper documentation and standards to support future maintenance efforts, and again should be reviewed by someone else. Note that this guy may be brilliant, but if no one else understands his stuff you are dead in the water if he is unavailable. So: you may want to start by implementing code and documentation reviews. That will give you a starting point, and once you have one or two other people familiar with the project you can work at dividing up the work. If your new report refuses to cooperate with the code and documentation reviews I'd seriously considering dumping him. Anyone who has 20 years of It experience and has failed to grasp the concepts risk management and business continuity had better be the next Steve Wozniak to be worth keeping around.
I agree with rgosden. From
I agree with rgosden. From your description he doesn't struggle with the concept of two people working on the project. He just doesn't want anyone else involved. You're the one who's left struggling with it.
He's 24 months into an 18 month project, and it's going to stretch beyond 36 months. I know next to nothing about computer technology, but what little I know tells me technology goes out of date at lightning speeds compared to a few years ago. Not to mention the ugly picture that comes to mind when you think of financial aspects of return on investment in resources.
Are you truly in a position of authority with this person? The MT podcasts often refer to the tatoo on your forehead as a manager, "I'm Your Boss and I Can Fire You." Is that the case, or is this person sacred? Your report seems to be running the show, managing you and everyone else rather than the other way around.
You need to solve the problem of this project dragging on forever. One approach might be to let the direct be involved in determining the solution and discuss it with the direct, but zero tolerance for "I don't wanna" or "Leave me alone I'll be fine."
With the duration of the project, the lack of progress, and the refusal to let anyone peek in the door, you could be dealing with someone who checked out a year ago and is just biding their time for as long and they can get away with it.
Thanks rgosden and mrreliable
Thanks rgosden and mrreliable, some useful info.
As always the situation is more complicated than I have described. He used to be the only software engineer in team, but when we acquired that company he became part of a much bigger team, so we have other people with similar skills. So I am not worried about relying on him. We do have code reviews and documentation too, so that is not a risk.
We produce specialist instrumentation, with lifespan of 20 years or more. Fast moving technology does not impact what we do (much). No I can’t fire him – nor would I want to (or recommend that we do). He is a good guy, produces good work, and is committed to what he does. He just won’t share his job-list!
Today I managed to get some info out of him thus:
Q ‘is there anything threatening the next dead line?’
A ‘Minor issues, nothing considered a problem’
Q Give me an example?
Then got a list of issues that really could be a threat, and that others could look at.
Example
I really like your question: Give me an example. I will remember that when I get vague responses. Sounds like you are on your way with the employee.
Making progress,
Making progress,
Yes dtiller I agree with you, the 'give me an example' was a good one. (Dident think about it, it just came out!)
I guess I now need to think of other similar stock questions that will get him to share more. (It is almoslt like the beahvoiur inteview questions, if you have listened to that pod cast.)
Hi,
Hi,
Yes, you are asking the right questions. Is there a published project project plan with fairly granular milestones (1 to 2 weeks each)? This would be a good starting point for regular (weekly at least) meetings to go through what is on track, what is behind, etc.
Rick.