Manager: The One Way Umbrella

We've all had bad managers in the past. However, it's very easy to criticise the bad points and hard to quantify the good traits that managers have. This post is about the role of a manager as an umbrella. The difference between the worst managers I've ever seen and the best managers I've ever seen are fairly small.

This may be common sense to some and news to others. Line managers are there for two basic purposes as far as employees are concerned. To enable employees to get on with their role by sheltering them from harm, and to get employees noticed for their contributions.


#1 - Selflesness and Promotion

Many people don't notice that the game changes in management. The main difference in being in a leadership role rather than a 'report' role is that your direct performance is no longer in the spotlight from above. Instead, the team that you lead and the achievements that they make will define your success and failure. Fostering a culture in which reports can thrive will allow far greater achievement, be better for the organisation and ultimately make a leader look good.

Effective leaders need to look for opportunities to shine via their staff. It is all too common and easy to take credit for the work of an employee in the eyes of others. If an employee does something worthwhile and the work gets noticed, the manager should be strong enough to point the spotlight at the employee and show their talents.

Being able to stand clear and promote the work of an employee rather than take the credit will be seen in a positive light by those around you. Your reports will take this kindly and invest further into your leadership. Your peers will see that you're the kind of leader that doesn't require false admiration for authentication and you will seem stronger to them as a result.

It is a fallacy of all too many leaders who are concerned that if you do allow your reports into the spotlight, that they may get poached for other roles or it may paint a target on your back and leave you struggling. However, if you take all the credit for achievements, your reports will get disheartened and leave on their own accord, whereas should you be seen as a manager that allows people to shine, you will have your choice of the best across the organsiation as people aspire to be part of your team and you will likely be promoted rather than 'replaced'.


#2 - The Umbrella Effect

The good must come with the bad and we've all seen managers who are able to show the organisation what reports have achieved but also are quick to point the finger of blame when things go awry.

Anyone in a mangerial post has broader shoulders (organisationally speaking) than those who report to him/her. A mistake which may seem crucial and job threatening to an employee will often just be a temporary black mark on a manager. Thus it is crucial that a good leader is able to stand up and take blame (where appropriate) for the actions of their reports. Doing so will foster a culture of innovation and motivate the reports. Not doing so will leave people feeling that in case of mistakes, they're on their own.

A good manager should be able to keep their team working by effectively channeling communication as required. This is not an easy task but is crucial to get right. Although employees should be able to see their achievements recognised, they need to be sheltered from the harsh comments, incidents and trouble that may happen overhead.

A great story comes to mind of a CEO of a magazine company. The success rate of new magazines is low, around 20% in fact. One of the members of the board had tried valiantly to create a new publication and it had failed in the marketplace, costing the company a large amount of money and time. The CEO stood up publicly at the first major meeting after the failure and congratulated her on the hard work that the manager and her team had put into the project. He remarked that the senior team had been behind the project 100% and that whilst it had been a good project, it had simply failed to take root in the market. This gave the employees security to continue to propose new ideas, work on projects and devlop as a good company should.

In a similar manner, the umbrella effect should also be used to shield reports from requests inappropriate in either nature, timing or approach. If all requests for time or resources come through a line manager in proper channels (where appropriate), employees will be able to be far more productive and will not spend time fending off pointless requests that they either can't or won't refuse. If reports are confident that feasible requests will come from the top down or diagonally, they will be more productive as they do the work that a leader proposes as part of the bigger picture.

The other side however is not to micromanage. It is important to allow a team controlled interaction with other parts of the business. Stopping this would mean that all communication would need to come through the manager, taking their time and stifling creativity and communication. “Being a Leader doesn’t mean that you should take over tasks that people could complete themselves” (Gerald Weinberg).
Taking over communication would demotivate just as surely as allowing free reign for other leaders to ride ruffshod over a team.
Also, it is important that a team recieve negative feedback from above. This should not be sugarcoated, but can be toned down to an extent if required.


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Overall

As Robert Townsend said "True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers...
...When the best leader’s work is done the people say ‘We did it ourselves’".

A good leader should be able to let achievements shine through and shelter their reports from issues above. Take charge of the workload and make sure that your peers understand that they need to see you to use your resources, but also that it isn't you that achieves.

Gerald Weinberg said “the purpose of problem solving leadership [is] to create an environment in which many problems will be solved, not just for today, but for the future”. Remember that you aren't just solving issues but you're trying to empower your team to solve their own issues. By taking the credit to their achievements or by being overbearing in their dealings with others, your a few steps down the slippery slope to micromanagment and overwork.

Shouldering responsibility and shunning praise with the one way umbrella may not always be the easy option but is worthwhile nontheless. Do this effectively and not only will your standing from all angles improve, but your team will invest in you as a leader and achievement will rise.