Playing Politics- new job

[cygny]

i am starting a new job that will be demanding and stressful. i will be programming and managing a bunch of architects working for a world-famous architect. They all are very smart and have huge egos, and I will be the one telling them what they have to do and allocating resources to the projects. There will never be ample resources because this office does loads and loads of extra research. The architects work 80 hours a week and everyone is stressed out and they burn out quickly. It will be very chaotic. Part of that I like because I am creative and hardworking too.

 

So my question is, the guy who did it before me was not liked by the architects because of the way he approached them. I was told he did not understand their egos. I know there will be alot of cutthroat politics and underhandedness going on, and probably alot of jealousy because i will be paid more than the architects. Does anyone have any experiences or specific ideas they can share about how to approach the architects or handle them? Can anyone give me some tips?

[amerikajin]

I've only had limited dealings with architects but I do know that, like CPAs, attorneys or doctors they see themselves in a class of their own. They're a kind of intellectual elite so they're going to expect to be treated as such.

 

Based on my past experiences in working with and talking to people in various fields, IT people always seem to clash with professionals though it is not necessarily at all their fault - it has as much to do with what I wrote in the first paragraph as anything else. As I said, they probably regard themselves as intellectually elite and they're going to be skeptical of taking 'suggestions' or 'recommendations' on anything from anyone they don't hold in similarly high esteem. Which brings me to my next point: there is a lot of prejudice and ignorance about what people in IT/programming do and don't do. Many of these professional types (especially the older, more established ones) may have started their careers at a time before computers were really all that essential. They also still tend to think of IT people as technical specialists rather than professionals in their own right.

 

I think you just have to try to be humble and work around their egos. Try not to take things too personally but at the same time that doesn't mean you have to be walked on either. Just try to address any condescension in a tactful, mature manner.

[cygny]

thanks for the tip. it does help.

 

i guess i was a little unclear when i said programming. i am not an IT person, I am an architect who will be acting as their manager, basically. programming means I will be deciding which architect is working on what project, and how much time and money for models etc he will be allotted.