Manu's Vault

Three Managerial Superpowers

3 min readStatus:Seedling

Core Idea

Managers hold three asymmetric levers unavailable to individual contributors — information, time, and money — and a team’s effectiveness is determined almost entirely by how wisely or carelessly these superpowers are deployed.

What It Is

In Chapter 17 of Managing Humans - Lopp - 2019, Michael Lopp identifies three resources managers hold which individual contributors (ICs) do not: information, time, and money. Used wisely, they make the team faster and more aligned. Used carelessly, they erode trust and create dysfunction.

The Three Superpowers

1. Information

  • Managers receive organisational context ICs don’t: strategy discussions, upcoming changes, budget plans, competitive signals
  • Well used: proactively sharing relevant context; translating leadership intent into team-level meaning
  • Poorly used: hoarding information as status, or leaking sensitive information to signal insider access

2. Time

  • Managers control how the team’s time is allocated across projects, meetings, and operational work
  • Well used: blocking calendar time for focused work, prioritising ruthlessly
  • Poorly used: scheduling excessive reviews and standups that fragment flow

3. Money

  • Managers influence compensation, bonuses, budget for tooling, conferences, and headcount
  • Well used: advocating for fair compensation, funding tools that remove friction, rewarding exceptional contribution
  • Poorly used: allowing pay equity issues to fester, using budget as a political tool

Why ICs Don’t Have These

Individual contributors typically: receive filtered information from their manager, cannot protect their own time from external demands, and have no authority over compensation. This asymmetry is structural, not a reflection of capability — so the superpower responsibility lands entirely on the manager.

Risk of Misuse

  • Information asymmetry: Selective disclosure creates in-group/out-group dynamics; see also Manager-as-Communication-Hub
  • Time taxation: Excessive meeting load signals the manager values presence over output
  • Compensation politics: Allowing market drift generates hidden resentment and eventual attrition

Liz Wiseman’s research (2010) shows poor use of these levers reduces team output by up to 40%, while effective use can double team contribution.

Sources

  • Lopp, Michael (2019). Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager. 3rd ed. Apress. ISBN: 978-1-484-23712-4. Available: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-2158-7

    • Chapter 17 “Three Superpowers”

  • Mintzberg, Henry (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. Harper & Row.

    • Identified the Resource Allocator decisional role and Monitor/Disseminator informational roles

  • Wiseman, Liz and Greg McKeown (2010). Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. HarperBusiness. ISBN: 978-0-06-196439-6.

    • Multiplier managers extract 2× more from their teams; diminisher managers suppress team intelligence

  • Mintzberg, Henry (1979). The Structuring of Organizations. Prentice-Hall.

    • Formal authority over budget, time, and information differentiates managerial from specialist roles

  • Pfeffer, Jeffrey (1981). Power in Organizations. Pitman Publishing.

    • Managers derive organisational power through control of information, resources, and decision premises

Note

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