A good referee is invisible on the field. The same goes for management.

Bad management is obvious: constant firefighting, confused priorities, developers spending 80% of time in meetings. Good management is invisible: teams have what they need, blockers disappear before they’re noticed, work flows smoothly.

When management works well, developers don’t think about management at all.

Management vs. Leadership

Leadership asks: Where are we going? Why does this matter?

Management asks: Do you have what you need? What blockers can I remove?

These are different jobs. Promoting technical leaders into management roles fails when companies conflate enthusiasm with operational execution.

The Referee Model

Good referees enforce rules invisibly, let players play, and only intervene when necessary. Bad referees make themselves the centre of attention and slow the game.

The best managers referee the process, not the people.

The 80/20 Rule

80% of management value comes from protecting focus time, ensuring clear context, removing blockers early, and maintaining psychological safety.

Yet most managers spend 80% of their time on strategic planning, performance reviews, and cross-functional coordination.

Signs It’s Working

Developers are excited about problems they’re solving. Technical debt is managed proactively. Work flows from idea to production without heroics. People have time to learn.

The team delivers consistently because the environment enables great work naturally.

Like a good referee, the best managers are the ones you forget are there.