When the geeks threaten to go on strike, everyone is impacted; from ATMs and electronic salary payment to smooth restaurant orders and airplane check-ins, IT has become so central to almost all corporations, that any disruption is likely to cost a lot of time and money. This simple reality means that keeping the geeks happy at work is an absolute requirement for a modern business. Happy geeks are effective geeks usually.

The main reason IT people are unhappy at work is bad relations with management, often because geeks and managers have fundamentally different personalities, professional backgrounds and ambitions. Some people conclude that geeks hate managers and are impossible to lead. The expression “managing geeks is like herding cats” is sometimes used, but that’s just plain wrong. The fact is that IT people hate bad management and have even less tolerance for it than most other kinds of employees. So where does it go wrong? Here are some top ways that managers can lead geeks effectively and respectfully.