"I've been doing a relatively interesting job until now, but they've pushed me into management recently. Although the new position is pretty boring (I manage normals)"
By looking down on those you manage, you might find it harder to see them as useful for any tasks.
Instead of taking the attitude "Oh crap, I manage normals", you might consider saying "Hmm, given the tasks I need to get done and resources I have been given, how can I best get this done in a) in the least time b) at the lowest cost c) with the coolest outcome and/or d) with the best opportunity for an even higher paid management job that I can still be a geek in. Think of resources as everything from code base, to your budget, to your office supplies, to every single skill of every person under your charge, even if they don't do it as well as you.
"For example, I naturally started to use Borgish management methods, and this wasn't received well by people, to say the least. What are the most difficult hurdles for a manager geek to jump, and can our personality be used as an advantage in management?"
It helps to remember any time in your life, no matter how brief, that you felt like you were managed well. This could have been on the Olympics of the Mind team, at church, at school, on a sports team or on the job. How were you treated? How were you motivated? How did the other person make you feel? Did they talk down to you or say they knew you could do it? Take those pieces and always keep them around on which to hang the stuff you learn in the books.
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"I've been doing a relatively interesting job until now, but they've pushed me into management recently. Although the new position is pretty boring (I manage normals)" By looking down on those you manage, you might find it harder to see them as useful for any tasks. Instead of taking the attitude "Oh crap, I manage normals", you might consider saying "Hmm, given the tasks I need to get done and resources I have been given, how can I best get this done in a) in the least time b) at the lowest cost c) with the coolest outcome and/or d) with the best opportunity for an even higher paid management job that I can still be a geek in. Think of resources as everything from code base, to your budget, to your office supplies, to every single skill of every person under your charge, even if they don't do it as well as you. "For example, I naturally started to use Borgish management methods, and this wasn't received well by people, to say the least. What are the most difficult hurdles for a manager geek to jump, and can our personality be used as an advantage in management?" It helps to remember any time in your life, no matter how brief, that you felt like you were managed well. This could have been on the Olympics of the Mind team, at church, at school, on a sports team or on the job. How were you treated? How were you motivated? How did the other person make you feel? Did they talk down to you or say they knew you could do it? Take those pieces and always keep them around on which to hang the stuff you learn in the books.