CAD management calls for employing a variety skills that you must tailor to meet the specific needs of your staff. For technical staff, the tools are methodology applied to the degree of one's learning, not physical or standard. When practice is heavily based on technical understanding and logic, staff are less able to respond to management, and managers tend to be autocratic. The seeds for conflict are inherent in the mixture. I was once told by a CAD manager in his moment of exasperation that CAD managers should be licensed to carry guns. Another once told me he was leaving the firm at the end of the month because his boss likes losing money. He was going to work for another firm where he would be given support and resources to be able to manage, and be appreciated for the effort. Charged with CAD management your relationships can be dysfunctional, so in this installment and the next I'm going to outline managerial skills that a CAD Manager needs to be effective.
What you need to succeed
Before anything else, a CAD manager must have technical knowledge of the software AND people-management skills. It's like the case of the person who has only the "gift of the gab." That person will go a fair distance but then fail when the lack of technical knowledge is exposed. The person with only technical skills and no management skills will get nowhere at all. For the most part CAD managers have the technical part, but get frustrated with the managerial part of their duties. The frustration may stem from lack of co-operation by your staff, by your boss, or both. Unless you feel satisfied that your hard effort developing efficient procedures and worthy organizational structures is being recognized as important and followed, you will give it up and all your work will be wasted. The needs of others are being satisfied at the expense of your needs.
In my 25-odd years of experience in business I've read a lot of material on this topic. The best and most concise advice I've found, and which has become my bible when beset with difficulty, is the book Leader Effectiveness Training L.E.T. written by Dr. Thomas Gordon. (You can order the book new or used through this link at Amazon.com.) In my opinion, this basic advice will survive mankind and it's the best money you'll ever spend to help your career. It offers advice on how you go about getting your management needs satisfied, and I recommend that you read this book at least once every year.
When your needs aren't being met, you must take ownership of the problem. In your communication of the problem you use what Dr. Gordon calls "I-messages" rather than "You-messages." As he points out, it is obviously ridiculous to be indicating to others that they are bad for doing something that meets their own needs. By owning the problem, you apply "assertive skills" so that when the other person raises a problem you accept their feelings by using "counseling" skills. In your "I-message" it is essential to include 3 components, BEHAVIOR + FEELINGS + EFFECTS. That is:
(i) a description of the unacceptable practice or behavior, (ii) your honest feelings, and (ii) the tangible effect that this behavior is having upon you.
The very first exchange sets the stage for you to develop the solutions without blaming; once that happens you are already on the way to resolution. For example, the CAD manager might call for an interview in which he or she broaches a subject with an assertion like this: "The non-conformance with my procedures is making me feel I have no worth to the company, and my efforts at organization are being wasted."
Whether your work is being deemed worthy or not, the key here is your effort and your feelings. Most people will feel obliged to try to offer something that will help in the subsequent response. The next exchange will most likely be an expression of the respondents underlying problem in meeting your needs, which transforms into his or her own appeal for help to solve that problem. In some cases, that problem may not even have been revealed until then. Immediately, the manager then practices the "counseling" skills and conducts what is referred to as "active listening." Active listening is accepting the other person's feelings by repeating back what you have heard, to confirm that you care and that you have understood correctly. This opens the door to a constructive exchange of simple assertions and counseling, until solutions are found that are acceptable to both parties. With no blaming, there's no fear and the lines of communication remain open.
Walk the talk
This kind of conflict resolution won't work when you've reached the end of the line with previous attempts, perhaps using "You-messages" that infer blame, and you have had flare-ups on previous occasions. You will have to allow time to give it a rest first, and if you've reached the point that the show is going to be over by next week, of course it's no longer an option. The manager has to have the time to plan for and walk the talk, and when you do you will be amazed with the results. If the problem was a significant one, the relief in having it resolved satisfactorily will be so great that you will have formed a bond. You'll likely even become the best of buddies.
None of this even mentions the fact that when there is participation in a solution, the participants strive much harder to make it endure. How many people want to look stupid by not conforming with their own idea, or not showing any respect for another's idea when they were shown respect for their own?
When you are a technical person who becomes too deeply involved in the development of your standards, you develop a vested interest in your point of view that is too strong for you as the leader, to accept change. There is a strong tendency for the more autocratic style of management to creep in. The efficiency dividend is accomplished more by generating team work and a happy clan of workers than by any particular procedure being better than another. There is a product I recommend to help you avoid this problem. Its called the “S-MAN Standards Manager” developed by Softco Engineering Systems Inc.
In Part 2 I'll talk about varying management styles and the effects of those management styles. Until then, stay cool and try the Dr. Thomas Gordon book. I know it will help you in many ways, as it has served me during my growth as a manager.
About the Author
Barrie Mathews is president and manager of product design and engineering at Softco Engineering Systems Inc., developers of the S-MAN AutoCAD Standards Manager.
