Why Shielding Hurts Your Team and You

For the sake of this post, let’s call shielding what it is: “blocking any bullshit and chaos, whether behind the scenes or out in the open.” Sounds noble, right? Like you’re some goddamn superhero saving your team from the evil overlords upstairs. But this so-called hero act? It’s actually screwing over your team and, surprise, screwing you over even more. Here’s why.

The Hero Complex of Shielding

Shielding often means you’re playing interference between your team and upper management’s lunacy. Sure, you tell yourself, it’s for their own good, but who’s the one stepping into the spotlight here? You. It’s you getting all the glory, all the pats on the back for “protecting” your team.

You’re the one going back to them like some puffed-up hero, saying, “Hey, look what I did! That dumbass senior exec wanted to implement this brain-dead idea, but I shut it down. Look at me, saving the day!” (Every single manager has done this. Yes, you too). It feels good, doesn’t it? Being the savior. The modern day business Jesus. But newsflash: this isn’t about protecting your team. It’s about stroking your own ego in a job that demands autonomy.

Shielding Makes You the Bottleneck

You think you’re streamlining things, don’t you? Filtering out the crap so your team can focus. Except, you’re not a filter. You’re a cork in the bottle. Everything — every request, idea, approval — has to pass through you first.

“Oh no,” you’re probably saying, “not everything goes through me.” But that’s a big fucking lie. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t be the heroic shield you claim to be, would you? You’re the judge, jury, and executioner deciding what’s a waste of time and what’s worth attention. That slows everything the down. Take a two-week vacation, I dare you, and watch how the whole operation grinds to a halt because no one else knows how to get shit done without you.

Shielding is Lonely

Being the shield sucks. It’s lonely as hell. You’re out there fighting the good fight on your own, dealing with upper management’s constant barrage of stupidity. And when things go sideways, guess who’s left holding the bag? You. It’s isolating, demoralizing, and, frankly, soul-crushing. You’re not inspiring anyone; you’re just setting yourself up to burn out in a blaze of self-inflicted martyrdom.

Politics Is Part of the Job

Here’s the thing about politics: it’s not some four-letter word. It’s life. It’s work. It’s the job. Politics is about building relationships, influencing decisions, and communicating in a way that gets people on the same page. And yeah, politics can be slimy. But you’re not pissed about someone climbing the ladder. You’re pissed when they do it in a sneaky, underhanded way. Sometimes mediocre (hell, even bad ideas) win because the influencers, the best “politicians”. Remember Crystal Pepsi? Blockbuster refusing to see the online revolution? AOL-Time Warner Merger? All of these were caused by highly influential people who exerted influence on others to make it happen. And it’s unlikely for nefarious reasons. I’d rather employ “Hanlon’s Razor,” a principle that advises against assuming someone is intentionally malicious when their actions can be more easily explained by incompetence or simple misunderstanding; in other words, “never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Don’t act like you’re above it. Everyone’s out here trying to get ahead — for themselves, their families, their egos. You’re no different. And guess what, your idea may be stupid too, you just don’t know it yet.

The real skill is learning to navigate the game without losing your damn soul. Teach your team to do the same, instead of pretending you can shield them from reality. Make politics part of the gig. Not the backstabbing, cloak-and-dagger crap, but the real work of aligning people and ideas.

Create a Better Environment

If your team doesn’t feel the pain, they’re not going to solve for the pain. Shielding them from distractions just lets the problems fester, like an old sandwich left in the back of the office fridge — the longer it’s there, the nastier it gets, until it’s practically sentient. You want to help your team? Get rid of the goddamn distractions entirely. That means rethinking processes, finding better tools, and creating a culture where even the lowliest individual contributor can call bullshit on bad ideas but, more importantly, evangelize good ones. Even the ones that you think suck. Let your team learn to push back, to challenge, to grow.

Throw Your Team Into the Deep End (But Don’t Forget to Teach Them to Swim)

Your team might hate it. Some of them just want to keep their heads down and do “the work”. But those aren’t the people who are going to grow. They’re the ones who’ll be sitting there at the end of the year, wondering why their performance review is shit despite their long list of tasks completed. “But look at all the things I did!” Yeah, cool story, but tasks don’t equal growth — and they certainly don’t equal impact.

Stop Being the Shield

Leadership isn’t about being the hero. It’s about creating a team that can handle the chaos, navigate politics, and come out stronger on the other side. Teach them to deal with the swirling dumpster fire of office drama, to recognize bullshit ideas before they gain traction, and to spot opportunities hidden in the rubble of bad decisions. Hell, even teach them to negotiate with upper management like they’re haggling over the last slice of pizza in a college dorm room. So ditch the shield, and give them the damn oven mitts. Trust your people. Let them step up and take the hits. It’s messy, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s exactly what needs to happen.

Be the leader who builds a team that doesn’t need a shield. They’ll thank you for it. Eventually.