Comments on: It’s the Transparency, Stupid! http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/its-transparency-stupid.html Dealing with software projects in real life Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:07:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Pawel Brodzinski http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/its-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2370 Pawel Brodzinski Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:45:47 +0000 http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2370 Mark,<br /><br />Actually I look at the question about a reward before doing anything to get it from two perspectives.<br /><br />As an employee I like to know when my additional effort will bring additional bonuses for me. From this perspective the question is well-grounded.<br /><br />However being a manager I love to work with teams where I can call "who's with me?" and majority will follow not asking whether they're going to get a bunch of bucks for that.<br /><br />Of course it is possible only if I'm able to get some rewards afterwards, which I always strive for. Then I can expect people will respond my another call whenever it's going to happen. From the manager point of view this approach has one more advantage. After the job is finished I know who gave more and who just came to show up. Then rewards can be more fair.<br /><br />If a manager fails to do his job with rewards question "what's in it for me" becomes instantly valid whenever boss asks you for something more.<br /><br />The other thing is every manager should always be prepared for the question. If someone doesn't trust their manager enough to believe reward will be fair asking a question is no-brainer. This actually means most manager will be asked about rewards pretty regularly.<br /><br />By the my wife pointed the very same sentence as the one she doesn't agree with. Mark,

Actually I look at the question about a reward before doing anything to get it from two perspectives.

As an employee I like to know when my additional effort will bring additional bonuses for me. From this perspective the question is well-grounded.

However being a manager I love to work with teams where I can call "who's with me?" and majority will follow not asking whether they're going to get a bunch of bucks for that.

Of course it is possible only if I'm able to get some rewards afterwards, which I always strive for. Then I can expect people will respond my another call whenever it's going to happen. From the manager point of view this approach has one more advantage. After the job is finished I know who gave more and who just came to show up. Then rewards can be more fair.

If a manager fails to do his job with rewards question "what's in it for me" becomes instantly valid whenever boss asks you for something more.

The other thing is every manager should always be prepared for the question. If someone doesn't trust their manager enough to believe reward will be fair asking a question is no-brainer. This actually means most manager will be asked about rewards pretty regularly.

By the my wife pointed the very same sentence as the one she doesn't agree with.

]]> By: Anonymous http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/its-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2369 Anonymous Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:58:55 +0000 http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2369 Pawel, jak zwykle - nice post :)<br /><br />> The worker’s question isn’t a very nice one <br /><br />^^ I don't entirely agree with the above comment though. The first thought on every worker's mind is WIIFM (what's in it for me). (S)he could have phrased it better but "what's in it for me" is a valid query. As one of the guys in the trenches I'll tell you plainly that nothing demolishes morale quicker and more totally than a PM telling his/her underlings to go on another bataan death march with no tangible reward to show for it. On the other hand, you are 100% correct about being transparent. I'd rather have my PM tell me that there's nothing in it for me except the glory and satisfaction of knowing that I accomplished something difficult, rather than feeding me some BS about supporting the team, company, etc. But that's where real charisma and leadership traits come into play...<br />Cheers,<br />Mark D. Pawel, jak zwykle – nice post :)

> The worker’s question isn’t a very nice one

^^ I don't entirely agree with the above comment though. The first thought on every worker's mind is WIIFM (what's in it for me). (S)he could have phrased it better but "what's in it for me" is a valid query. As one of the guys in the trenches I'll tell you plainly that nothing demolishes morale quicker and more totally than a PM telling his/her underlings to go on another bataan death march with no tangible reward to show for it. On the other hand, you are 100% correct about being transparent. I'd rather have my PM tell me that there's nothing in it for me except the glory and satisfaction of knowing that I accomplished something difficult, rather than feeding me some BS about supporting the team, company, etc. But that's where real charisma and leadership traits come into play…
Cheers,
Mark D.

]]> By: Tenrox Project Planning Team http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/its-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2368 Tenrox Project Planning Team Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:48:13 +0000 http://blog.brodzinski.com/2009/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-transparency-stupid.html#comment-2368 I really liked the quotes that the author has mentioned in the begining of the blog. These are short but they convey are vast message for us. I really liked the quotes that the author has mentioned in the begining of the blog. These are short but they convey are vast message for us.

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