Umbrellas and funnels
A manager or leader can be an umbrella or a funnel.
An umbrella shields the team from distractions, last-minute changes, and conflicting priorities, creating a protective space where they can focus and thrive. This umbrella management style ensures the team has the clarity and autonomy needed to do their work.
A funnel, however, allows every request, deadline, and distraction to pour straight through, leaving the team overwhelmed and struggling to keep up.
As organisations grow, the demands on a team often increase dramatically—especially in areas like product management at tech companies. Left unchecked, these demands can drain a team’s time, energy, and ability to focus on what really matters.
Todd Jackson , former product manager of Gmail, captured this perfectly with the umbrella and funnel analogy: great managers act as umbrellas, shielding their teams and enabling progress. Poor managers, by contrast, become funnels that overload their teams.
All of us want autonomy to choose our own actions, but none of us want to be overwhelmed.
Be the umbrella.
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