A manager should let their staff shine. Sometimes I think my function is to protect them from themselves and others but to stay out of their way. A managers should not be threatened if their staff is better at some skills than they are.

Also everyone thinks they are best at everything, human nature I guess.

Good post

Sno

I LOVE you for writing this.

Still, about half your career is spent trying to keep yourself motivated while knowing most of what you do will be “tweaked.”

Most of the question, “Why, if so many brilliant people work in TV and movies, does their product suck so often?” can be answered by this: everything gets flattened out by the process.

When something great slips under the wire, you can believe it’s because the people behind it were extremely well managed and focused to an unbelievable degree.

I love it when an editor asks: “Did you photograph (insert some weird, irrelevant thing here)?” post shoot – especially when the question suggests that any competent photographer would have thought to photograph (weird, irrelevant thing). For me, this only happens with one specific editor. But it is a regular comment.

I’m always open to suggestions, but I usually like to hear them before hand.

My other favorite quote from this one editor “Did you get a medium shot?” I don’t really know what a “medium shot” is, but it sure sounds boring.

I figured out early that this particular editor likes to throw photogs (and I imagine others) off balance with these kind of odd, post shoot comments. I also learned not to feed into it by giving any hint of a defensive reaction.

The quality of the people I collaborate with makes a HUGE difference in the final product.

“You’re desire to execute is deflated”

Bwahahahahaha …. damn someone else got there to do the change I wanted to do!!!

On a more serious note, I just spent an entire shoot yelling at myself to stop making things more complicated simply to make them confusing, and to stop doing things that don’t make any sense.

Your advice to leave it alone is probably one of the most valuable tips any editor could ever hear. Do the minimum because the 3 hours you spend on the project are not going to match the (perhaps) several weeks the author/photographer/copywriter has spent on it already.

Oh, and I also put folks in charge of doing certain things and have a strict policy of backing them up without second guessing them.. at least in front of anyone else.

It seems blindingly obvious to me but it obviously is not. Great point.

Kim Taylor

Generally I’ve also found it helpful (something I’ve both received, and then enacted myself) is when somebody brings something to you, rather than just jumping in and changing things, to ask them if there’s anything they dislike about it, or that they feel isn’t as strong. Many times people know what needs work, they just don’t have something in mind to improve it. If you ask them where they think something could be improved, tweaked, etc., then even if you suggest something to improve, they feel like it was at their direction, which provides I think an even stronger sense of ownership. This then makes people working under you or submitting work to you more comfortable with your advice in the future as well.

And, I have to admit, the comment about using 18 lights really struck a chord with me. I feel like people often try to use a dozen lights to make a boring idea perfect, rather than using one or no lights to make an imperfect idea interesting.

Interesting post. I think part of being a good manager, leader, or coach is knowing when to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. I see folks in decision making positions who always feel the need to put their stamp on things either do it because they – 1) the need to justify their worth and salary or 2) just can’t let go of the ego and control.

You said it when sometimes great accomplishments are the results of doing nothing. I think this evident in the example of photographers using 18 packs and heads versus the decision to use available light. Sometimes adding more lights really doesn’t add value – just more stress.

Van