The Craft of Management: Beyond Metrics and Methods
this is Essay 008
In an age of data and algorithms, we face a surprising truth: the fundamental act of managing people remains more craft than science. Consider a scene that plays out in organizations daily: A manager notices subtle shifts in team dynamics during a meeting, reads growing tension in body language and tone, and must decide—in the moment—whether to address it directly, have private conversations later, or let the team work it out. No algorithm can make this decision. No dashboard can tell you the right moment to intervene.
This reality challenges our contemporary desire to reduce management to metrics and best practices. While tools and frameworks multiply, the essential challenge remains unchanged: understanding people and helping them collaborate effectively. It's not that data and methods don't matter—they do—but they serve the craft rather than define it.
The Nature of Craft Management
At its core, craft involves working with materials that have their own nature—wood, metal, clay, or in management's case, human nature. The craftsperson must understand this nature deeply, work with it rather than against it, and respond to how it presents itself in each unique situation.
Think of jazz musicians; they know music theory, understand harmony and rhythm, but what creates excellence isn't their theoretical knowledge—it's their ability to listen, respond, and work together in real time. Theory provides structure, but the music happens in the moment, in the interplay between musicians.
So too with management. Frameworks and theories provide valuable structure, but effective management happens in the spaces between—in reading situations, sensing moments, and responding to what emerges. Like jazz, it requires both deep knowledge and the ability to act based on dynamic circumstances.
The Journey from Novice to Master
The path to management mastery follows patterns familiar to all crafts. It begins with apprenticeship—learning through observation, starting with basic techniques, and making mistakes in a supported environment. The novice manager seeks certainty, clear guidelines, and "best practices."
The first crucial transition comes when we realize that rules alone aren't enough. This often emerges as a crisis—when our carefully learned approaches fall short in a complex situation. Some retreat from this challenge, clinging more tightly to formulas. But those who grow learn to embrace the uncertainty and understand that management happens in the gaps between the rules.
With experience comes pattern recognition—not just seeing situations clearly, but understanding their dynamics. The developing manager learns to sense what's brewing beneath the surface of interactions and to feel the currents of organizational life.
Finding Your Voice
The ultimate paradox of management craft is that mastery leads not to standardization but to individuation. Just as Miles Davis didn't sound like John Coltrane, effective managers develop distinct voices while working within the same fundamental principles. Your effectiveness comes not from imitating others but from finding your own way of embodying the craft.
This journey often begins with imitation—learning from mentors and trying approaches we've seen work for others. But true development means moving beyond imitation. An introvert won't manage like an extrovert and a natural analyst won't lead like an intuitive. The key is not to fight these differences but to work with them, just as we work with human nature itself.
The Living Practice
Management craft survives and evolves through practice and transmission. While books and theories have their place, the deepest learning happens through direct experience and reflection. Modern organizations often overlook this essential truth in favor of standardized training programs. But true craft learning requires something more organic: the kind of apprenticeship where a developing manager can observe masters at work, seeing not just what they do but how they think, how they read situations, and how they make decisions in real time.
Like a master craftsperson's tools, frameworks and models amplify capability but don't create it. The art lies in knowing when and how to use them—and when to set them aside entirely.
I’ll be writing more about the craft of management in the coming weeks.
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