Triggered not due to the caffeine
In some management courses today, I found Steve Ballmer’s time as CEO of Microsoft is often presented as a case study of poor leadership. One critical decision that stands out is his implementation of "stack ranking," a performance review system that forced managers to rank employees on a curve.
This approach meant that even if a team excelled, some members had to be labeled as underperformers. The rankings were based on arbitrary comparisons rather than actual performance. As a result, employees competed against each other, even within the same team. Instead of fostering collaboration, this system created distrust and anxiety.
Imagine working in an environment where you couldn’t fully trust your colleagues because you knew one of you had to be ranked low, regardless of how well the team performed. The focus shifted from innovation and teamwork to self-preservation. Over time, this killed morale and drove talented people away from Microsoft.
This kind of internal competition has held back creativity and collaboration in innovative companies like Microsoft. Despite the apparent negative impact, Ballmer stuck with the system, which became a significant factor in Microsoft’s loss of competitive edge during his tenure.
I would never do this kind of system.
or
Maybe for Microsoft, it didn’t work, but for some companies, it can work
or
I wouldn’t let this decision become permanent if I were in charge.
Isn’t the human mind funny? It's easy to dip into this kind of idea. That smug satisfaction about what you would do if you were in charge? Well, I understand the appeal.
This is how many of us start on the path to management. We think we will do a much better job than the bosses we’ve had. And it sounds terrific until you sit in the seat.
In theory, it's lemon squeazy
I am lucky that these days, I meet many people who are just shy of management. Sometimes, there's a pending promotion. Other times, a tag labels them High Potential in an HRIS software. And occasionally, it’s just super-keeners who want to be the boss but faster and, of course, cheaper.
They want to know if they can take management training ahead of time. Can they skip over the gawky, awkward parts and jump straight to the better salary, high-trust team, and HBR case study version?
No. You can't. It's not possible to leapfrog all of early management. You can, for sure, skip some of the most treacherous parts. And you can, for sure, improve your management with practice. But that practice is vital. It's not enough to sit at home and think about what you would do if you were Ballmer. The learning is in the grappling. And you can't grapple in theory.
In practice, it's a different story
During a coffee chat with a manager, I heard, “I’m a very good manager when I make the time for it.” I am not sure why exactly, but those words triggered me.
It seemed like a sensible thing to say. He was a thoughtful guy and an authentic communicator. Of course, the organization was growing fast, and he had a lot on his plate, so he couldn’t always make it to that time. But he was confident that, were he to make the time, it would be good. And if you worked with him, you believed it.
In the years since, I’ve spoken with many more leaders—founders, executives, newly minted managers, and some of those High-Potential Leaders of the Future. Not all of them feel the way our manager did. Many of them worry about unknown unknowns. Many of them are making it up as they go, and they think they are probably getting at least half of it wrong.
But a significant chunk has a very similar language.
I know what to do; I'm just not doing it right now.
or
I can be a great boss for my people; I understand what's involved. But there are trade-offs to make, and I'm making different trades.
or
After this big project finishes, I can return to my duties. And everyone can’t wait for me to be back.
During that coffee chat, I could only sense something was off, but I did not know what exactly it was. If you're a great manager who doesn't make the time to manage, you're a shit manager. There is also the complimentary view for the technical folks out there: If you’re a great technical engineer who can’t work with less senior colleagues, you are not a senior engineer.
The real manager does it
When I work with senior staff, I sometimes ask them for memorable memories from their careers. Whether positive or negative, I want them to think of a moment when their boss impacted them.
The negative stories make your heart hurt. Bosses who yelled. Bosses who belittled. Bosses who sat on their employee's heads and bosses who were nowhere to be found. Many stories describing a negative moment end with something like, "... and I went back to my desk and started job hunting."
Something interesting happens with the positive stories, though. Most of the time, they don't describe a moment. Even though I ask for a moment of impact, I get broad descriptions of the entire management relationship.
She always made me feel like it was safe to try things.
They pushed me to take on things I didn't know I could and had my back the whole way.
He took the time to understand where I wanted to go and put things in front of me to help me get there, even when it meant leaving his team.
The positive stories aren't about an incredible technique or a well-run meeting. They're about bosses who communicate expectations and context. Who gave uncomfortable but essential feedback. Who kept their one-on-ones, even though there was no agenda initially. Fundamentally, they are about bosses who put in the work—made the time. Over and over. It's the total of that effort that people point to when you ask them for positive management moments from their careers.
So, listen. When you see bad management in the world, it's healthy to want to do better. Sometimes, our response to other people’s actions makes our values and priorities more straightforward. That kind of critique and reflection is valid. We've certainly done our fair share.
But you are not measured by your critique of others. You are measured by your work and your impact on those around you. So, if you feel like you know what to do if only you made the time, consider this an explicit invitation to make the time. We're all great bosses in theory. It doesn't count until we put it into practice.
