People, process, delivery and AI. Fixed properly, and measured.

Which manager are you?

Coach, Driver, Friend or Passenger?

Six statements: standards and care, across people, process, and product and operations. Score each the way your team would, not the way you'd like it to be. Nothing leaves this page.

Braver still

Ask two people on your team to answer these about you, and compare. The gap is the most useful number here.

01People · StandardsIn the last month, I told someone plainly that their work wasn't good enough yet, and helped them fix it.
02People · CareRight now, I could name what's weighing on each person in my team, because they told me, not because I guessed.
03Process · StandardsEveryone in my team could tell you our top three priorities, and what we've agreed not to do.
04Process · CareOur meetings and processes give people time back. Nobody in my team regularly works evenings just to keep up.
05Product and Operations · StandardsWe deliver what we commit to, or I raise it early, before anyone has to ask.
06Product and Operations · CareWhen something breaks, we fix the system, not the person, and nobody gets blamed in public.

0 of 6 answered

Standards →
High standards, low careThe DriverGets it done. At a cost.High standards, high careThe CoachDifficult, demanding, deeply caring.Low standards, low careThe PassengerChecks in. Collects the cheque.Low standards, high careThe FriendLiked by everyone. Stretching no one.
Care →

The four types

Most of us drift between them. The point is to know where you are this quarter.

High standards, high care

The Coach

Difficult, demanding, deeply caring.

Multiplier

What the team feels. Stretched and backed. People do the best work of their careers here, and say so years later.

  • Holds a hard line on quality, and explains why
  • Takes the heat upwards when things go wrong
  • Knows what's going on in people's lives
  • Pushes people into the spotlight when they're ready

In a crunch, the bar can outrun the team. Keep an eye on Energy.

More on The Coach →

High standards, low care

The Driver

Gets it done. At a cost.

Diminisher

What the team feels. Pressure without air cover. Results this quarter, resignations next.

  • Results first, people when there's time
  • Fixes problems personally rather than through the team
  • Feedback lands as criticism
  • Turnover is quietly high

The numbers look great right up until the people who made them leave.

More on The Driver →

Low standards, high care

The Friend

Liked by everyone. Stretching no one.

Accidental diminisher

What the team feels. Safe, comfortable and slowly bored. The best people leave to grow somewhere else.

  • Avoids the hard conversation
  • Sandbags estimates to protect the team
  • Says yes upwards and absorbs the cost personally
  • Praise is general, never specific

Kindness without a bar isn't kind. It costs people their growth.

More on The Friend →

Low standards, low care

The Passenger

Checks in. Collects the cheque.

Diminisher by absence

What the team feels. Leaderless. People route around you to get anything done.

  • Turns up to meetings, not to the team
  • 1:1s cancelled, or never booked
  • Problems are discovered late, by someone else
  • Nobody is growing, including you

Most Passengers are burnt-out Drivers or exhausted Friends. Start with your own energy, then the team's.

More on The Passenger →