In the HBO series Band of Brothers, there is an episode that focuses on a new leader who is well trained but has very little field experience. When the group faces conflict, he is nowhere to be seen. He suddenly has urgent matters to attend to at headquarters. When the fighting is over, he comes in, commends them for their bravery, then starts to pick apart everything they did wrong. He dresses them down, offers criticism, and leaves as quickly as he came. As you can imagine, a leader like this does not last long with a band of hardened soldiers who know all too well the consequences of bad decisions.
This episode describes perfectly what I call Seagull Management. If you have ever owned a boat down in San Diego harbor, you know the dangers of leaving any food unattended topside. Seagulls are never around until the moment you leave for a few seconds. They swoop in, turn everything upside down, grab whatever morsels they can, and fly off before you can do anything about it. They are not quiet about their attack either; they squawk louder than ever, as if scolding you for being careless enough to leave such an easy target. This is why Seagull Management is such a fitting description of the manager who is absent most of the time, but loves to swoop in, launch a flood of criticisms, bark orders, and leave just as quickly.
Nobody likes Seagull Management, and the strange irony is that the person who practices it usually does not like themselves. They resent the fact that they “have to” do what they do. They feel justified because they believe they are providing necessary constructive feedback, and if it were not for them, things would be really bad. From what I have learned in my own personal study of seagulls, which is what I call this personality type, they almost always have feelings of inadequacy. They feel marginalized. They want to contribute and be part of the team, but they are unable to fully commit, and consequently they find themselves barging in and squawking like those pesky birds at the beach we have all grown to hate.
So why do they get into this situation? Why can they not join in with the team and be part of the group? They could be tremendous leaders, as they have the skills, so what is going on? Just like the seagull, they have fear. A seagull has an instinct for self preservation that feels stronger than any bird I have ever encountered. They are constantly vigilant, and sneaking up on one is almost impossible. They are afraid of everything. The reason they behave like a seagull is that they share this trait. They live in fear. I have considered carefully the things they fear so that, if possible, I might help a Seagull Manager become a vital and integral part of the team.
Fear 1: Losing another opportunity
This fear comes in a few shapes and sizes. Like a seagull, they are distracted. They have many options in front of them, so they are highly opportunistic. They swoop into one scenario and move on to the next just as quickly. They pretend to be committed to something, but in reality they have other commitments they are afraid of losing. This is why they seem to appear out of nowhere; they are busy with other things. This fear is born out of necessity. They feel they must do all these things and are “doing their best” to manage a complex work schedule.
Fear 2: Rejection
They desperately want to be part of the team and to be accepted. They are usually friendly, good natured people. They hate that they resort to yelling and scolding when something catches their eye that needs attention. They sense that the team does not like them. They are smart people. Seagulls are among the smartest birds. Yet they come and go quickly and dodge responsibility and assignments because they do not want to fail and give the group a reason to reject them. They use any opportunity to tell others what to do and how to do it, then quickly fly off to the next commitment without any real thought as to how the work will get done. They act this way out of fear. They are not contributing as much as they know they should, so they try to make a big difference when they do show up. Unfortunately, that comes across like a seagull ruining your picnic at the beach, or the new lieutenant visiting the foxhole for five minutes and commenting on how dirty the place is.
Fear 3: What the superiors think
The Seagull Manager is constantly worried about what higher ranking leaders think of them. They want to show off or dazzle in some way. They are very good at producing reports that make it look like they are in command and control of the team. They make their teams do mountains of unnecessary busy work just to make themselves look good. They worry about the product or service, but they are even more worried about what upper management might think of their leadership capability. The fear of being discovered as a fraud by upper management is what wakes them up at night. They watch email and every communication like a hawk, always looking for chances to elevate their status as being on top of things. Ironically, they are completely disconnected from the work, yet upper management believes they are glued to the pulse of the business because of the attention to detail the Seagull Manager pours into crafting upward communication.
The hardest question to grapple with is what to do about Seagull Managers once you know you have one. Often they are in leadership positions and considered influential. They usually are influential, as they are smart people with good skills. Many will try to marginalize them. They push them to solitary assignments of elevated importance. This is the easy path and often chosen. The problem is that the seagull is a community bird, and they do not deal with isolation well at all. They want to be part of the team, and they want the team to like them. When you push them into solitary assignments, their natural reaction is to jump into the fray with even more eagerness. Direct confrontation is difficult because Seagull Managers spend most of their waking hours devising ways to defend their situation. They have arguments armed and ready for any moment when upper management might indicate dissatisfaction. In large companies, passive leaders tend to rise to the top because the company values stability more than anything once it has a formula for success. A passive executive cannot deal with a Seagull Manager effectively at all. So the Seagull Manager stays in place for a long time, much to everyone’s dismay.
What I have seen is that most of the time it resolves the way it did in Band of Brothers. Mutiny. At some point the team becomes so fed up by the unpredictable swoop in events and the mountain of work assigned just to get the business review done that they revolt. This is when executives finally act, because even their passive natures recognize that a mutiny is never good for keeping the keel of the ship steady. Honestly, I do not know how to handle Seagull Managers other than removing them. This makes me sad, because I see great potential in these people. They are highly skilled and smart. However, at the end of the day I come to the same conclusion that any boat owner in San Diego comes to. These birds are annoying as hell.
This is not your fault. The Seagull Manager is at fault. The reason for their behavior is that they are in conflict. The only way to resolve this conflict is to face it, and that is a personal decision that we cannot easily persuade them to make. In my opinion, if this type of manager would commit to a single cause, roll up their sleeves and help dig the foxhole, stop worrying about what others think, and focus on getting the job done, then they would be transformative. However, try as I might, the end result is almost always the same. The Seagull Manager avoids confrontation and quickly flies away when faced with potential harm. If you have a better way of dealing with seagulls, then please send me a note and let me know what your tactic is.
