Gatekeepers and Gardeners

A gatekeeper controls the flow of information in an attempt to narrow focus and avoid surprises. I often hear new managers who adopt this role describe themselves as a “shit shield.”

A gardener trusts, encourages autonomy, and exposes their team to higher level problems. Gardeners turn scaling and growth into a team sport.

A good leader will understand the right time for gatekeeping and gardening, and determine the right approach for each member of the team based on their individual skills and areas for growth.

By becoming a gardener instead of just a gatekeeper, you solve for the team, solve for yourself, and help scale the organization as a whole. Gardening helps grow your organization’s future leaders. It opens you up to new opportunities as you create the potential to replace yourself in your role. It helps you accelerate the careers of everyone on your team by encouraging them to work on bigger, harder problems. And while there is some danger in encouraging new responsibilities at the wrong time - you should expect to find and learn from failures along the way - pushing yourself to become more of a gardener over time is crucial to avoiding burnout.