The Dampening Function
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
A good PM buffers the team from both excessive hype and excessive doom - which is also your job when your kid comes home either on top of the world or convinced it's ending.
Adriel Frederick has led teams through Facebook controversies, Lyft battles, and Reddit chaos. His leadership philosophy?
'As a PM you are a leader. You have to provide a buffering or damping effect on the team, and that goes two ways. Sometimes we're doing stuff that everybody thought was amazing, and you kind of got to bring people back down to earth. And then when it's terrible and the press is telling you that you're the worst thing to ever happen in the world, you kind of have to also go back and say, Guys, slow down.'
This is parenting in a nutshell.
Your kid scores a goal: 'I'M THE BEST SOCCER PLAYER EVER!' Gently dampen.
Your kid loses a game: 'I'M THE WORST SOCCER PLAYER EVER!' Gently lift.
The job isn't to match their energy. It's to buffer it.
Pull down the highs. Pull up the lows. Keep the amplitude reasonable.
You're the dampening function. They're the signal that needs smoothing.
PM Theme: Team morale management
Parenting Theme: Emotional regulation modeling
“As a PM you are a leader. You have to provide a buffering or damping effect on the team, and that goes two ways. Sometimes we're doing stuff that everybody thought was amazing, this is the best thing we've ever seen, and you kind of got to bring people back down to earth. And then when it's terrible and the press is telling you that you're the worst thing to ever happen in the world, you kind of have to also go back and say, Guys, slow down.”Adriel Frederick · 00:22:50
