Great Managers Are Painters, Not Photographers.
When I became the CTO of my previous company, the transition was rough. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what the transition was about. In my mind, the job was about getting stuff done and solving complicated technical challenges.
I told myself that if customers were happy and we kept shipping, I was doing my job.
I was wrong.
Capturing Reality vs. Crafting Narratives
At first glance, a manager's role might seem a bit like that of a photographer: capturing the reality of the business environment and presenting it as is to the team. This involves relaying facts with clarity and accuracy.
It feels natural to say it like it is. So and so got laid off, executives are changing direction again, team member X is not preparing before meetings, etc.
The problem with just saying it like it is is that we tend to forget that everybody else is building a narrative of who they are in their story, and things that happen at work are just part of the plot that is their entire lives.
Most of the communication issues I caused in the past were about just stating the facts. I would, completely unaware, ignore the gaps between the raw facts and let my team fill in them based on their unique experience and perspectives. Because of this, we would often end up with different stories in our heads without knowing it.
A classic example was me saying: we’re working on feature XYZ now because a couple of leads requested it. The team would nod in agreement and start working.
All the gaps would show when we needed to try the new feature in our test environment. When addressing the gaps with the engineer leading the effort, they often said: “I’m not sure how customers use our product, but I think this is done.”
Ouch. Here I was, failing to communicate the customer story and wasting a ton of time.
A good manager is more like a painter; a painter doesn't just replicate what they see; they interpret, add context, and evoke emotions. They weave these facts into a compelling narrative, giving them meaning and helping team members understand how these changes fit into the larger picture.
Do It For The Plot
Behavioral science offers insights into why the ‘painter’ approach is effective.
Stories are a fundamental way humans process information. According to Uri Hasson from Princeton University, storytelling synchronizes the listener’s brain with the speaker's, facilitating understanding and empathy. When we craft narratives around business facts, they’re informing the team and connecting with them on a deeper level.
A narrative approach to management goes beyond day-to-day tasks. It builds a shared sense of purpose. Daniel Pink, in his book "Drive" (Here’s a nice summary), highlights the importance of purpose in motivating employees. Managers can enhance motivation and engagement by connecting everyday work to a meaningful narrative.
While the factual accuracy of a photographer is essential, our role as managers transcends mere fact-reporting. Like painters, we must craft stories that give context, evoke emotions, and provide meaning. This storytelling approach is not just a communication strategy; it's a fundamental aspect of leading and inspiring a team.
I used these principles when the whole company had to start implementing security requirements to achieve SOC2 attestation. No more playing fast and loose; everything has to rely on SSO, we can’t be handing out SSH access to everybody and their mom, etc. The team was on board, and there was not much resistance - after all, who wants to put customer data at risk?
That was until the topic of employee device management came up.
A very reasonable question of “Are you going to be able to see what we’re browsing and read our email?” (and similar) started to surface during one of our retrospective meetings.
I knew that just saying, “We’re doing it because it’s in the requirements,” would not cut it; that's step one of eroding trust, making people feel like cogs in a machine, and ensuring they will feel disposable. Obviously, I couldn’t lie either and say that we’re just ticking a box - that’s not the culture we wanted to build.
Here’s how I tackled the device management & monitoring conversation:
I did admit that, yes, the monitoring agent that everyone needs to install is powerful - it gathers system stats, can run remote commands, and allows a certain degree of remote control. But I didn’t have to exercise any of that because there was no need: all these capabilities were required so that we can ensure that everyone’s OS is patched, on-disk encryption is enabled, and the screen locks out automatically. We want to prevent any chance of our production systems being compromised if someone’s laptop gets stolen and effectively kills the company as a consequence.
The last point was an exaggeration, but it was a powerful narrative that got me the buy-in.
You can exaggerate only to emphasize your point and what you’re trying to convey. Do not deceive; lies have short legs.
That’s what a manager does: you have to blend facts and narrative, be honest, and inspire people. It’s not about bullshitting and crafting elaborate stories - it’s being truthful with a purpose.
It Goes Both Ways
Let’s look at a counter-example. Your team is working on a complicated feature; everyone did their best to scope the work and divide it into shippable chunks, and the work is progressing steadily until you notice that one of the Pull Requests has been stuck in a draft state for two weeks.
If you ask the engineer doing the work, they most likely would say: “It’s just taking a bit longer than expected, but everything is fine.”
It sounds like a reasonable answer, right?
Wrong!
You need to gather the facts, understand what’s going on, whether the engineer needs more help, or if what the team is trying to build was under-scoped or “it is what it is,” and everyone just has to suck it up.
Only then can you create a narrative and explain why there will be a delay. You can even turn something that feels like bad news into good news. For instance, “We prevented a huge performance issue affecting production. Yes, things are delayed, but we dodged a bullet.”
Your team models how to communicate based on how you do it; they will most likely follow and adopt the same strategies. Who knows, maybe you’ll have fewer status meetings.
Never Ending Story
I learned the hard way that first, one has to get the facts right; second, understand the overarching story; and then, and only then, share that narrative with the team. Sometimes, the problem is not what you said but what you didn’t say.