Helicopter Management and Other Mistakes

published on 2023/07/06

As a manager, you have been granted certain formal powers by the org, to be used for the benefit of the org. This means you have a responsibility to care for the organization, and your team within that context.

You shouldn’t be advocating for the benefit of your team members, you have a greater responsibility to the rules and categories of the system, which you collectively maintain and agree upon. The system can’t survive if every manager is gaming the rules on behalf of their team. The system only works if every manager is playing fair.

As a line manager, the work you do interfacing with your team will likely be 50-75% of your time and energy … and impact. But this ratio changes as you go up the org chart. As a VP? Maybe 10-20% of your energy and time can go to your direct reports.

The higher up the ladder you go, the less important your bedside manner becomes and the more important your strategic direction becomes. You are first and foremost responsible for the company’s success, not for your reports’ feelings and career development.

charity.wtf