A novel idea for the construction of software development teams is that all potential managers are placed in a pool and the developers choose the manager that they want for the project. At first glance, this may appear to introduce an additional and unnecessary layer of politics into the planning structure. However, after thinking the matter through, it makes sense and the (un) prefix can be removed. Study after study has indicated that the weakest point in the software development cycle is at the mid-level manager point, which is the one that developers interact with on a daily basis. By allowing a reasonable choice to be made early in the process, many festering political problems can be reduced or eliminated. This is only one of the many sensible strategies put forward in this book.
The management of software projects is an exercise in effective psychology, applied to a group that sometimes behaves as a mob, other times as a professional organization and sometimes as a kindergarten class. Therefore, the behavior of a manager cannot be consistent, but must be adjusted to reflect what is happening at the time. The patterns for managerial behavior reflect these many possibilities. The patterns range from simply keeping their attention, (kindergarten class), to offering rewards, (professional) and even to surviving when the group is turning on you (mob). There is a great deal of wisdom in these suggestions, which often sound like something Benjamin Franklin would have written.
I disagree with the title to the extent that it includes the word "radical" leadership. There is nothing radical at all about the approach, in fact many of the points bring back memories I have of the managers I have worked under. Some were good some of the time, others good most of the time and some were good none of the time. When they were good, they were often following the principles in this book and when they were bad, it was as if they had read a point and made a conscious decision to do the opposite.
Developers are generally a very talented group, but they drift without effective leadership. One way to obtain the necessary direction is to have the managers get together and be selected in a draft, much like that done by sports teams. However, before that is done, make this book required reading and have them interview for the job. It sounds radical, but isn't that the way we select the best new people for our companies?
