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Comment by kumarvvr | Hacker News Reader

> 1. Managers Hoard Information. Leaders Overshare.

And, bad managers play politics with information privy to them.

> 2. Managers Weaponize Policy. Leaders Bend Rules for People.

This is absolutely true. There is a saying that comes to my mind, said by a good manager, "Break the rules and justify it, I am here to ratify it"

> 3. Managers “Fire Fast.” Leaders Coach, Then Help People Land Softly.

Also true, bad managers consider people as "resources" to be used and disposed off.

> 5. Managers Reward Compliance. Leaders Reward Dissent.

This is directly related to the control issue. Compliance means control is easy. But this will not prevent them from blame dumping and un-ethical acts.

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You do realize that all of these are false dichotomies.

Leaders share the right amount of context so their people understand the overarching strategy and goals. They don't overshare.

Leaders help move their people away from rule-breaking in the first place.

Leaders prioritize the health of the team. While this should include giving timely correction and assistance to help people to the right track, and finding ways to lean in to individual strengths, it also absolutely includes removing people with poisonous attitudes, disruptive behavior, or someone dragging the team down with poor performance.

Leaders reward justified, rational dissent. Compliance is an expected norm until someone can demonstrate either an exception or the need for a new norm. Compliance is more often related to things that can sink the entire company, so no, it doesn't just mean "control." Compliance is not the same as conformity.

Felt like I was reading a lost on linkedin, with this talk of "leaders".

Its just a kind of bad management vs a kind of good management.

It's not even that. It's management that sounds good vs. management that sounds bad.

I mean, obviously if you're presenting it in the format that the article does, it comes across as a false dichotomy. I read it as one part exaggeration to make the point that what too many managers do is actively detrimental to team health, and one part emphasizing the direction in which to err to be a good leader.

Obviously (just to pick one of the dichotomies there) blindly rewarding dissent is not really any better than blindly suppressing it. All of these need to be done with nuance and judgement. Because those are absolutely vital skills of any good leader.

The point is that managers (of a certain type) are approaching these particular issues in exactly the wrong way, and need to be shown that.

Tell these to Steve Jobs

I see your Steve Jobs and raise you an Elizabeth Holmes.

I call your bluffing, Holmes wanted to be a fake Jobs.

It sounds like we both agree that she was pursuing a similar strategy then. Steve Jobs hoarding information and being successful doesn't mean hoarding information is a good idea or that he wouldn't have been even more successful if he had overcome some of his worst impulses.

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