Jill Geisler, one of Poynter's prominent contributors, has weighed in at the 10-year mark at the institute with a thoughtful piece on five myths on managers. The myths in shorthand: People will do what you want, you should keep your distance, you should arrive first and leave last, you should simply hire well and get out of the way, and you should be the smartest on the team. What makes a good manager? Comments, even those a little close to the bone, welcome.
As a corollary to the last point, I think it's a myth that managers should come up with brilliant ideas. I think a better manager is one who can have lines of communication open enough to get ideas from subordinates, push them into action, and distribute credit accordingly.
I've had managers who enthusiastically encourage the sharing of ideas, and managers who point you to a suggestion box on the door. It's pretty clear which one I like better.
Agreed. The manager is an enabler of letting people bring ideas forward. As one, I can say that it requires caution not to appear to be shutting down such initiative. The slightest semblance of indifference to a suggestion frequently comes across as opposition, which in turn leads to great ideas staying underground.
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