Why does nobody talk about how bad management kills creativity in glass shops?

I hear a lot of glassblowers say that a firm hand is needed to run a hot shop well. But from what I've seen, that approach often backfires. In my last studio, the manager would hover over every bench, correcting us mid-puff. It made the room tense and mistakes more common. Now I work in a place where we discuss ideas before starting, and our pieces have more life. Sure, some direction is good, but constant oversight just isn't the way. We should give more credit to teams that trust each other.

3 comments

3 Comments

richarddixon3d ago

Feel that, it drains the life out of the work.

seth1583d ago

Man, that tension travels right down the blowpipe into the glass itself.

daniela853d ago

Wait, but blaming all management is missing the point. A good manager knows when to step in and when to back off. For example, setting up the annealer schedule is help, not control. But breathing down someone's neck while they're on the pipe? That's just anxiety in glass form. The best shops I've been in had bosses who solved problems, not created them.