leading technical and professional teams

1. Here are some general observations about the kind of people you’ll have in your team Technical professionals have various characteristics in common which have implications for their managers or leaders. If you ignore these, you’ll fail in your task of bringing out the best in them for the benefit of the organisation

a. Technical professionals want autonomy
They are frequently achievement-oriented people who take pride in and draw motivation from their specialism. A high level of autonomy concerning the conditions, pace and content of work is important to them. They are often sensitive to the quality of the work environment, climate and culture. Many would prefer to manage themselves and they usually want a large role in setting goals and making decisions.

b. They need professional recognition as well as organisational success
Like most people, they value support and recognition from management and colleagues. They also need wider recognition among their profession or discipline, and it's important to facilitate this.

c. Their first loyalty may be to their profession or discipline
Many specialists consider themselves to be a professional first and an employee second. Their professional values and standards are important to them. Changes that would risk compromising their professional standards will be resisted. They will have problems if they feel their skills and knowledge are not being kept up to date

d. They need a particular balance of competition and support
Bright, ambitious people with a keen sense of their professional competence can be very competitive. This may have a negative effect on the sharing of information, as well as on team effectiveness. At the same time many technical professionals/knowledge workers seek an environment that draws on different knowledge and experience bases, and know that collaboration enhances their results. The leader of manager needs to keep the balance at its most effective.

The Leadership Challenge Successful leaders of professional groups or groups of knowledge workers:
• manage organisational interference
• facilitate the professional and personal development of their subordinates
• support individual productivity through teamwork