From Overshielding to Growth
The best shields aren't walls, they are windows to opportunities
You receive a re-org announcement at 5:00 on Friday afternoon. A senior leader in your organization is leaving, and the team is being re-aligned with your team. Your leader has let you know a re-org is coming, but there is no impact on your function.
This is one of many surprises you come across in your product management work.
Besides this surprise re-org, here are other examples:
Debate on ambitious goals: Senior leaders present clear objectives while debate rages about near-term plans
Minimal exposure to stakeholders: Priority is on delivery over supporting stakeholders
Missed discussions on trade-offs and risks: Decisions handed down without your input
Disconnects in performance feedback: Senior leaders omit recognizing your team's contribution
These could be signs that you are being overshielded. Well-intentioned leaders want to protect their teams from challenging conditions. This allows product managers to stay focused on delivering product success.
Why Is There More Overshielding Today?
The meme of great leaders holding an umbrella protecting their teams from uncertainty contributed to the pressure on managers to shield their teams from unreasonable requests. Some teams can benefit from being protected from gyrations of leadership whims. There is value in allowing teams to finish in-progress work before starting new items.
However, shielding your team doesn't work as well today. Here is what's changed:
Transparency is expected: reductions in meetings and shared documents have brought product work out into the open. Product managers can feel left out of key decisions when well-meaning managers handle critical interactions.
Product managers are more skilled: With greater access to AI, training and other resources product managers are well-prepared to solve complex problems.
Leadership expectations: Product managers are key virtual team leaders. Product managers need more opportunities to practice leadership in tough situations.
The bottom line is most product managers miss out on learning how to solve complex problems when they are shielded too much.
The risks of using these protective leadership techniques are far-ranging:
Product managers:
Feel growth is stagnated
Frustrated by lack of transparency
Product teams:
Limited exposure to the realities of their organization
Too much dependency on escalation for problem-solving
The organization:
Missed innovation from product teams
Minimal delegation due to shielding teams
What can product managers and product teams do when their leaders protect them too much?
Overcoming Overshielding Gracefully
Leaders using overprotection for their teams are some of the most popular leaders and the most overloaded leaders in each organization. These leaders truly care about their people and want their teams to succeed.
For short periods, overshielding works great. Product managers can focus on recovering from a crisis, learning new concepts, or delivering a product initiative. But like eating desserts every meal, product managers become hungry for more fulfillment.
What can product managers do if the overshielding is hurting growth? Here are some strategies to gradually break out of the overshielding rut:
Recognize the advantages of overshielding - being able to focus with leadership air coverage is incredibly valuable to the product and team
Reduce the burden of leading - you can offload neglected responsibilities which lowers product risk
Lead with solutions, not problems - proactively solve problems to show that you can handle challenges
Empathize on trade-offs - become a resource to explore and communicate about alternatives
Find mentors - to see your progress through an outside leader
Through this type of joint problem-solving, you learn more about organizational realities. You become more efficient in solutions for your product because you have key business insights.
Conclusion - Growth from Overprotection
Overshielding can feel like a safety net, but over time, it limits your ability to solve problems and grow. By partnering with leadership, you can turn protective shields into opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth.
Product managers who step out from behind the shield can:
Proactively solve tough problems with leadership support.
Turn visibility into influence, driving meaningful change.
Balance focus on delivery with opportunities to practice leadership.
The best shields aren’t barriers—they’re launchpads. By stepping up and showing you can tackle tough situations, you build trust, expand your influence, and unlock new opportunities for your team and product.
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I am so guilty of promoting the concept of being the "shit umbrella" for your team. But you're challenging my thinking and I love this take that it can go way too far. It's a delicate balance of protection and shielding and I think especially now, in our remote first world, transparency and context is more important than ever!