Unsettling Times
With the resignation of the CTO, and for the time being at least, a little uncertainty as to what will happen with his replacement, I feel there are unsettling times ahead. It really all depends on how they handle his replacement and how close a fit the replacement is to his management style. No one is perfect, and so there's always room for improvement, but this guy was so instrumental in setting the tone of this place that I'm wondering how a more button-down collar type so change the environment that the result would be something so completely different to make it almost unrecognizable.
I can certainly see that some folks would like a more traditional CTO - one that kept lists of deadlines, kept the feet of all IT folks to the fire. There's certainly a place for accountability, and making sure that a promised deadline is met or a really good reason is given as to why not. But to go to the other extreme would so adversely effect this place that I'm wondering if they can really afford to do it. Asking a group of people who have worked a certain way for years to change significantly because of a new manager is their right, but I hope they are a little more realistic.
No doubt, there will be folks asking for a more technically savvy CTO. Again, not a bad idea, but the technology is such a small part of really getting these big projects done. It's more about motivation, people skills, and really only a very little about knowing the underlying bits in the systems. Again, a CTO that doesn't understand the problems is a problem, but one that can't motivate the troops is as big of a problem and causes retention issues, etc.
I guess I'm just nervous. After all, they didn't ask me about it and I seriously doubt that they care how it will effect me. I, on the other hand, care a great deal how it is going to effect me.