Peopleware summary

The fact that so few managers don’t really understand the purpose of their position is made evident by the several common mistakes managers make when managing their team.

First, they see their workers only as being cogs in a machine – essentially interchangeable and uniform, and don’t recognize the unique differences between employees.

Managers want to get the most out of their employees. But what’s the best way to go about it?

A manager can always try to make employees work longer hours, and perhaps spend a weekend at the office, right? While this is often a manager’s prefered strategy, it’s actually counterproductive.

Think about a project that was dear to you. Perhaps it was a picture you drew as a child, or maybe an essay that you wanted to get just right.

Whatever it was, you would have surely been upset if someone came along and yanked the project from your desk, when you were only halfway finished! These days, lots of employees feel the same way about their own projects.

Think about your office: Are the phones constantly ringing? Are people up and about? Are there just too many distractions to get things done?

If this sounds familiar, then it might be time to change your office setup so that your employees can feel more at ease and actually get some work done.

Can you remember the last time you were so engrossed in a task that your work felt like the most simple, natural thing in the world?

This feeling that creative workers get when they are truly immersed in their work is called flow, defined as a “condition of deep, nearly meditative involvement” with a gentle sense of euphoria, and it’s essential in doing our best work.

Surely you’ve heard stories about what it’s like to work at Google. The company has a reputation for creating a pleasant, fun and unique working environment that delights employees.

But there’s a reason Google tries so hard to keep its employees happy.

If you’ve ever worked in a team in which everyone and everything just “clicked,” then you know just how pleasant as well as productive these kinds of environments can be.

As a manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure nothing comes in the way of encouraging this sort of positive team atmosphere.

No two workers are the same, and as such, no two are equally skilled at any given task.

However, this shouldn’t be taken to mean that less-skilled team members bring down the group. Rather, a team’s success depends less on individual skill and more on priorities.

Would you rather work in a place where you can be yourself, or in one where you feel like you have to fit into a mold?

Unless you are a robot, individuality is important. It’s no different with your project teams.