[gramie]

I recall hearing that Google had a term similar to this:

A "shit umbrella" was a manager who protected the development team from all the politics, blame, and mismanagement coming from above.

A "shit funnel" was a manager who directed all the shit coming down, directly onto the team.

[BerislavLopac]

Yeah, I've been using "shit umbrella" for a long time. But the "transparent shit umbrella" is an even more powerful, albeit more disturbing, metaphor.

[tharkun__]

I wouldn't say more disturbing, really. But more "enlightening".

A shit umbrella is great to have if the alternative is a shit funnel. But how are you gonna appreciate the shit umbrella if it's pitch black, blocks everything at all times?

You're not gonna appreciate it. In fact, you might think some of the things your manager does are the "bad things", when in fact, it's just the umbrella bowing under all the shitload.

If the umbrella is (somewhat) transparent, you, as the manager, gain some legitimacy through transparency. You're no longer the manager that "sits around on his ass all day doing nothing". You're actually doing something for the team and they can "see" it, even though it doesn't affect them.

[mikestew]

Not that it originated with me, but I was using that metaphor long before Google showed up.

[evilduck]

You forgot "shit spewer". One who creates the shit that someone else has to then deal with (usually organizational peers or the team beneath them).

[_whiteCaps_]

I've always called those folks seagulls - fly in, shit on everything, and take off again without having to deal with the consequences.