[jmcunningham]

I think those 2 schools of thought exist, because those 2 types of employees exist.

I've been a dev for 20 years now, and I've definitely had coworkers that fall into both those categories you mention.

I'm new-ish to management now, but I'm working under the (hopeful/optimistic) assumption that most people fall in the latter category. But I need to find a style that can handle both types of employees.

[cimmanom]

To some degree, both categories can also co-exist in the same person.

Some people are self-motivated when crunching numbers on spreadsheets because they find it satisfying but would need to be dragged kicking and screaming to provide phone support -- and vice-versa.

And there are probably some jobs that it's more common to be self-motivated for than others. Garbage collection? Data entry?

[svnsets]

I'd say both exist in every person. I'm a software engineer with some design background. I got into programming because after trying to get into design, I found it wasn't my thing, but I've had many employers that wanted me to fill in the gaps the design team left open which I hated doing. It comes down to learning what motivates each employee individually. Companies spend so much money on surveillance and productivity monitoring, but don't spend much if anything on taking inventory of employee skills and strengths.

[scarface74]

Even development. I hate having to deal with project management software, detailed estimations, estimating points, etc. I know some of the drudgery of process is necessary, I just don't like it.

[rjbwork]

I don't mind the software. The estimates are asinine though.

[Too]

I think type 1 managers can turn type 2 employees into type 1 employees.

[ie0jdo92]

It’s my experience of 20 yrs in IT/office life that 1) is a result of lifelong cultural pressure to obsess over other people’s needs and dreams (enabled IMO by a fertile history of pushing religious nonsense on people, it seems perfectly socially acceptable then)

And that 2) is the view that arises when that cultural pressure is mitigated

It’s follow daddy’s orders/daddy knows best wrapped in economics and math and history that tries to say see look all this work by humans in a closed room proves this is how an economy should work

It’s religious in that no one knows how it works but we’re convinced it’s right

Having not been raised in a church and growing up in a remote place studying physics and electronics since I was 8 with my grandpa who grew up similarly in the 30s... the blind allegiance to such nonsense has struck me as utterly bizarre

“I’ve never looked. I just keep believing what they say.”

Nocebo effect in action

Google Varoufakis’s talk about the meetings during Greeks debt crisis. They had no theory or clue; they just wrote math that worked for the context in question— “Greek must lose and investors must win.”

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking about basic human needs being met. I’m talking about caring about Steve Jobs as if he’s was a child and enabling his childlike tantrums to hold so much sway over our reality.

[hinkley]

In a #2 place the #1 people start to get marginalized. Some of them either keep a low profile or they wander off. The sort that don't do either can be problematic, but they need to have the numbers in their favor to succeed (votes, filibuster, etc), and you can chip away at their supporters.