How we think about management and leadership

How we lead covers how we define the role of managers and leaders, how we prioritise, and how we encourage equal voice and psychological safety.

Operationalised through leadership principles, documented manager roles and accountabilities, team size norms, team charters, manager communities, guides, and development pathways.

At small scale the founder is the manager. How they lead embeds a style that sticks. Around 15-30 people, founders need help and face a fork: stumble through accidental management, or design intentionally first.

The better path: clear beliefs about the org you want, the managers you want, and documented expectations before delegating management.

• Player-coach or pure-play manager?
• Split between team leadership and IC work?
• Core accountabilities and purpose of the role?
• What does a great manager look like in your context?

Very few companies document and share what management looks like internally. That blur creates managers operating in no-man's-land between IC and senior leadership.

Identify and healthily repel future managers. Develop people before they step into role. Avoid accidental managers.

Traditional management training rarely works. Communities of practice, manager guides, team health checks, and 360 reviews create steady feedback loops.