Sitemaps
How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Am I a Good Manager?

Wil Schroter

Am I a Good Manager?

Most managers suck at being managers — not because they are bad performers, but because they don't really know what a good manager is.

In startups, this is a particular problem because, unlike established companies, tons of us become managers for the first time, not because we're entirely qualified or experienced, but because no one else was available.

As such, we're rarely told what makes a good manager, so we assume that if we get our updates, if people say nice things about us, and the business is doing well, we must be doing a good job. But the fact is, there's a massive difference between being a good manager and just being an adequate babysitter.

Babysitting is Not Managing

Most managers get by simply by being a good babysitter. They are there to listen to problems when they come up, pamper those that need some love, and generally try not to leave the house a mess. They assume that if there are no surfaced problems and no crying babies, they must be doing a great job.

And truth be told — thousands upon thousands of startups have managers doing just this - and doing it well — so no one questions their title. The thinking goes "If no one is bubbling up problems, I must be doing my job."

As such, they often assume the bar of performance for their team is the collective current state of their team. They may think "If this is how much the Dev team is producing, then that's the bar" versus saying "This is how much our Dev team SHOULD be producing, that's the bar, and this team is not reaching that bar."

Babysitters don't set high bars — good managers do, because it's the only way they want to operate.

Managing is About Changing Behavior

Good managers fundamentally change the behavior of the people working on their teams - they actually make them better players. They look for the strengths and weaknesses in their team and they build up on those. They create teaching moments when it matters and they reward great performance when it happens. They are constantly looking for ways to upgrade the team.

Sometimes that behavior can't be changed, a point that good managers simply won't tolerate. As such, they bear the hard cost of replacing bad performers and tirelessly seeking out higher performers.

They know there are two ways to improve a team - strengthen the players or replace them. There's no middle ground in their playbook for mediocrity. Conversely, bad managers make excuses for mediocrity so they can either avoid the painful friction of changing teams or adapt that lower performance to represent their lower performance. Either outcome is horrible!

Good Managers are Irreplaceable

When you see a good manager in action, it's impossible to miss. In many ways, they are damn near irreplaceable in our startups. The team itself would lose so much steam by not having them at the helm. It's not about being "missed" (anyone can be liked) it's about being "required".

It's the reason sports teams stop winning when their superstar coaches leave, or companies die off when a game-changing CEO leaves. The players are all still there, they just aren't the same team without their manager.

So, when we're sitting back, looking at our own performance, and that of the managers of our startup, we have to ask ourselves two questions. First "Has their presence fundamentally changed the quality and output of the team?" and second "If they left would this team no longer perform under someone else?"

If we (or they) pass both tests, we've got a manager on our hands. If not, we've got a really high-paid babysitter.

In Case You Missed It

Who is Qualified to be a Founder? It turns out that anyone can become a Founder. Having the idea and vision for your Startup is easy, but building a business out of nothing, dealing with potential issues and challenges, and getting started aren’t as easy.

Can I Lead Without Being Liked? (podcast) It’s a Founder’s job to make difficult and unpopular decisions, even unconventional ones, which may merit the team's unfavorable reactions. So, at what point will being likable still, matter?

Why Our Founder Reputation Matters How we represent ourselves as Founders follows us throughout our startup journey. It's more than first impressions, it's how we handle everything from shaking hands — to closing doors.

Find this article helpful?

This is just a small sample! Register to unlock our in-depth courses, hundreds of video courses, and a library of playbooks and articles to grow your startup fast. Let us Let us show you!

Submission confirms agreement to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Already a member? Login

ascure tech

Thank you

Reply2 years ago

Allen Chan

so concise and to the point, thank you!

Register to join the discussion.

Already a member? Login

Create Free Account