Runs on PeopleField guide
The people you'll work with.
Beyond the four kinds of manager, there are people you'll meet at every level. Some you want more of, some you need to see through, and there's a basket of lemons everyone carries.
The Doer
Relentless. Just doesn't stop.
Every team needs Doers. Every Doer needs someone watching their energy, because they won't.
Read nextStability without heroes · How to say no
How to spot them
- Picks up the hard thing nobody else will touch
- Turns 'we should' into 'it's done'
- Full of drive, rarely asks for anything
- First in, often last out
If you manage one
- Back them, and clear the path: blockers removed, decisions made fast
- Point the drive at the work that matters most, not whatever's loudest
- Watch the pace for them. Doers rarely say they're tired until they're gone
- Make sure their work carries their name upwards
If you are one
- Your drive is an asset. Aim it, or others will aim it for you
- Finishing beats starting. Say no to the fourth thing
- Teach someone else to do what you do, or you'll never be able to stop
The Selfless Leader
Puts others up before themselves.
The people you know, know. Selfless leaders are why that works in your favour. Be found by one, then become one.
Read nextGetting noticed · Multiply, don't diminish
How to spot them
- Mentions your work in rooms you're not in
- Hands the visible project to someone ready to grow
- Pulls strings in the background, and never mentions it
- Their people get promoted, often ahead of them
If you manage one
- Be one. Sponsor two people this year: name them, and put their work in front of your boss
- Credit in public, by name. Take the heat in private
- Measure yourself by who you've lifted, not what you've shipped
If you are one
- Find them. They're the people whose teams keep getting promoted
- Make it easy for them to back you: give them the sentence about your work
- Pay it forward. The best thanks is doing it for someone else
The Oracle
Knows everything.
An Oracle is a gift and a single point of failure. The best ones make themselves a little less needed every year.
Read nextPeople debt · Stability without heroes
How to spot them
- Every question ends with 'ask them'
- The history of every system lives in their head
- Brilliant, generous with answers, rarely writes anything down
- Holidays are planned around them
If you manage one
- Treasure them, and make them less necessary: pair them with someone on every big question
- Ask them to teach, not just answer. Make knowledge-sharing part of their job, and recognise it
- Track how many decisions wait for them. That number should fall
If you are one
- If you're the Oracle: your value is what others can do because of you, not what only you know
- Write it down. The answer you've given five times is a page someone else could read
- If you rely on one: thank them, then learn it yourself
The Facetimer
Talks for the sake of it.
Facetimers survive where talk is measured and work isn't. Outcomes over output is the cure.
Read nextUsing data to make decisions · Getting noticed
How to spot them
- Loudest in meetings, lightest on delivery
- Visible to leadership, invisible in the work
- Updates are long; outcomes are hard to find
- Takes credit in the room for work done outside it
If you manage one
- Change what you reward: outcomes, not airtime. Ask 'what changed?' not 'what did you do?'
- Make delivery visible: written updates with results, demos of working output
- Give them one clear outcome to own, with a date, and follow up
- Protect your quiet Doers. Facetimers thrive where nobody checks the work
If you work with one
- Don't compete on volume. Make your outcomes visible in one sentence
- In meetings, ask for the specifics: 'What's the result so far?'
- Keep a record of who did the work, especially when it's you
The basket of lemons
Everyone has one. Protect your time.
Everyone has a basket of lemons. The skill isn't to resent them. It's to stop letting them set your agenda, and to deal with it properly when they're yours.
Read nextRunbooks for humans · How to say no
How to spot them
- You've helped them before, and nothing changed
- Requests are urgent for them and endless for you
- Deadlines missed without warning, every time
- Your time with them never moves anything forward
If you manage one
- If a lemon reports to you, it's your problem: have the performance conversation, with a date. Avoiding it isn't kindness
- If they don't report to you, stop rescuing their work. Redirect to their manager or the right channel
- Give them clear, short, written answers, then move on
If you work with one
- Be honest about where your time goes. Keep a short list of who drains it, and why
- Answer within reason, not instantly. Urgent for them isn't urgent for you
- Never let a lemon's deadline become your weekend
- Stay civil. Writing someone off isn't the point: spending your time where it changes something is