Seagull Manager

Seagull management is a management style wherein a manager only interacts with employees when they deem a problem has arisen. The perception is that such a management style involves hasty decisions about things of which they have little understanding, resulting in a messy situation with which others must deal.^[1]^[2]^[3] The term became popular through a joke in Ken Blanchard's 1985 book Leadership and the One Minute Manager: "Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, then fly out."^[4]

As seagull managers only interact with employees when there is a problem, they rarely offer praise or encouragement when things are going well. When problems arise, they often seek to place the blame on other people,^[5] and to draw attention to themselves in order to appear important. They criticize others, but make little contribution to the solution of a problem.^[6]

The seagull style of management may be indicative of a manager who is untrained, inexperienced or newly-appointed.^[5]

References

↑ Andreou, Alex (July 25, 2012). "Why David Cameron is the ultimate "seagull" manager". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/why-david-cameron-ultimate-seagull-manager. "Back when I worked for a large organisation, we had a term: "seagull manager". It described someone, usually a consultant, who flew in, made a lot of noise, dumped on everyone from a great height, then flew out again, leaving others to deal with the consequences."
↑ Bradberry, Travis (2009). "The cost of seagull management". Industrial and Commercial Training 41 (3): 139–141. doi:10.1108/00197850910950925.
↑ Witt, David (August 15, 2011). "Don't become a "seagull" manager". leaderchat.org. http://leaderchat.org/2011/08/15/don’t-become-a-“seagull”-manager/. "It's harder than ever to avoid becoming a "seagull manager" these days. That's when you fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, and then fly away again."
↑ Blanchard, Ken (1985). Leadership and the One Minute Manager. "Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, then fly out."
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 "Seagull Management". Types of Management. http://www.typesofmanagement.com/seagull-management.html.
↑ "Do You Have a "Seagull Manager"?". Modern Servant Leader. 30 July 2015. http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/do-you-have-a-seagull-manager/.

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[1] Andreou, Alex (July 25, 2012). "Why David Cameron is the ultimate "seagull" manager". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/why-david-cameron-ultimate-seagull-manager. "Back when I worked for a large organisation, we had a term: "seagull manager". It described someone, usually a consultant, who flew in, made a lot of noise, dumped on everyone from a great height, then flew out again, leaving others to deal with the consequences."

[2] Bradberry, Travis (2009). "The cost of seagull management". Industrial and Commercial Training 41 (3): 139–141. doi:10.1108/00197850910950925.

[3] Witt, David (August 15, 2011). "Don't become a "seagull" manager". leaderchat.org. http://leaderchat.org/2011/08/15/don’t-become-a-“seagull”-manager/. "It's harder than ever to avoid becoming a "seagull manager" these days. That's when you fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, and then fly away again."

[4] Blanchard, Ken (1985). Leadership and the One Minute Manager. "Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, then fly out."

[typesofmanagement-5] 5.0 ^5.1 "Seagull Management". Types of Management. http://www.typesofmanagement.com/seagull-management.html.

[6] "Do You Have a "Seagull Manager"?". Modern Servant Leader. 30 July 2015. http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/do-you-have-a-seagull-manager/.

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Seagull Manager

See also

References