A teammate once beautifully summarized a key trait good leaders share in common – they are “shit umbrellas” for their team.
I know the visual that accompanies this term isn’t pretty. But stick with me.
Her observation was that teams are thrown all kinds of “shit” from above their level. And good leaders deflect the noise, ensure the team has relevant context, and enables them to focus on getting the job done.
It is a description I’ve come to appreciate more and more over the years.
