"Your job, should you accept it, is to become what I’ve lovingly dubbed Shit Umbrella"
So, so true. And this is an excellent article.
There's another aspect of becoming a manager that the Benjamin doesn't discuss here, but is closely related:
The best managers/leads are excellent at saying "No". They say "No" to outside (especially upward) voices as well as to the people they lead. The most important aspect of being excellent at saying "No" (as a leader) is to be able to say "No" to yourself.
I don't know Benjamin myself, but he sounds smart and probably has tons of great ideas. The team is executing against a plan and Benjamin might have a really great idea for a new feature, process, etc... To be a really great Shit Umbrella a lead like Benjamin needs to be disciplined about when to say "No" to his own ideas.
I suspect you and I agree on this, but I'd like to reframe your argument a bit. I would argue that a good manager should strive to never explicitly say "no". There are plenty of ways to limit misguided ideas without explicitly saying no. For instance, you can say "Yes but...", "Perhaps, but only if...", or (my personal favorite) "Good idea, but I personally like your other idea much better". The advantage this approach has is that it makes sure that you're not shutting down a good idea that has some major (albeit fixable) flaws.
Of course, sometimes you have to just set your foot down and just say "No". But I've noticed that as managers get more experienced, they tend to rely on their ability to do so less and less.
So, so true. And this is an excellent article.
There's another aspect of becoming a manager that the Benjamin doesn't discuss here, but is closely related:
The best managers/leads are excellent at saying "No". They say "No" to outside (especially upward) voices as well as to the people they lead. The most important aspect of being excellent at saying "No" (as a leader) is to be able to say "No" to yourself.
I don't know Benjamin myself, but he sounds smart and probably has tons of great ideas. The team is executing against a plan and Benjamin might have a really great idea for a new feature, process, etc... To be a really great Shit Umbrella a lead like Benjamin needs to be disciplined about when to say "No" to his own ideas.