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If you're a shit funnel, the people you're managing will hate you, but the people above you will love you. If you're a shit umbrella, the people below you will

• mrbird 14y ago
  In Silicon Valley startups, the most valuable thing you can provide, as a manager, is the ability to attract a great team. When startups look to hire a manager, it's almost always with growth in mind. Your career is an opportunity to build a group of people who will follow you anywhere, thus making you very valuable yourself. Getting people to love working for you, while still making execs happy, is a non-trivial skill. Therefore, the best way to be successful as a manager, in the long term, is for people to love working for you. You will get amazing results. They might not be exactly what the people above you asked for, but that's where your skill is required--show that it's better and that they can trust you and your team more than they thought.
• SoftwareMaven 14y ago
  I have experienced every negative thing that can come from being an umbrella, to the point people on other teams hated my team because they were happier. If you go that path, expect negative reactions from everybody (except your team, that is, which was all I cared about).