What do you want in a software PM?
gruseom: Well, for starters, don't patronize me: most importantly, how many beers is considered fair compensation for pulling a late night to hit a tight deadline?most importantly: don't talk down to me with cutesy phrases.how many beers: don't manage me with a system of rewards like a laboratory rat. And please don't concoct "fun" activities. If we're not having fun working together, maybe you should think about that.is considered: you sound like an anthropologist asking about the ways of the natives. Or a high school teacher who wants to build rapport with the kids... you know, speak the "lingo" of their "subculture".fair compensation: what you're talking about is not "fair", it's irrelevant. If I want to have a beer with you it's because I like you, not because you're a project manager and I did something you wanted. If there are problems, don't compensate for them, address them.pulling a late night to hit a tight deadline: if you're such a "manager" why is your team in this position to begin with?I hasten to add that if we were working together, I wouldn't talk like this! I'm exaggerating to make a point, which is that I would be sensitive to indications that you are acting like a boss. If I noticed that, I would lose respect for you. Partly because I don't want a boss, but mostly because it would mean that you don't get something fundamental.The most intelligent people I've met as project managers are the ones who instinctively understand that the higher status assigned to their (largely clerical) role is an irrational artifact and don't identify with it. Rather they identify as a teammate whose role is facilitator for the team.