There is so much that I agree with in this article “The unspoken truth about managing geeks” that I can’t stress how much reading it in its entirety would be beneficial for every single manager and above in my (or any) company.
The only two things that I would add are:
1) A manager of an IT team, in my view, also needs to be there to champion causes embraced by the team – often IT workers have little clout in the business / political arena and a good manager nurtures relationships that allow them to gain support for IT driven initiatives. They also need to run interference and protect team members from dreary and pointless reports and statuses demanded by upper management or business units. Allowing IT folks to do what they do best.
2) The view of IT folks is somewhat romanticized and idealized. Just like any group of people, you’ll have many walks of life. The author falls victim – just a bit – to more favorable stereotypes. Even though they are an improvement, they must also be taken with a grain of salt. Not ALL IT folks are keen on finding the best, most efficient way to do something. Some folks’ BS detectors are much better than others, etc. But I think anybody who has actively worked with IT folks knows this and can keep that little grain of salt handy while reading the article.