Why Great "Doers" Make Terrible Bosses
We promote people who are good at their craft, not at leadership. Here's why that breaks our teams — and how to fix it.
The cursor blinks at the top of the page.
A dozen empty lines appear before a single edit is made.
That’s how you can always tell the difference between two kinds of editors — the ones who rewrite and the ones who coach.
The best editors I’ve known saw their role as mentors. They worked with reporters to help them discover their own voice and rhythm. They asked questions. They listened. They built trust. But today, those kinds of editors are the minority. In many newsrooms, they’ve become a rarity.
Why? Because it’s easier to believe you’re right.
It’s easier to think you have the answers.
It’s faster to fix than to teach.
The Rewriter
You know this editor the moment you meet them.
They open a reporter’s story, place their cursor at the top, and hit “enter” a dozen times.
In their mind, it doesn’t matter what the story is about or how much work the reporter put into it. They assume they’ll have to rewrite it — maybe not all of it, but enough to make it theirs.
For an early-stage reporter, there’s nothing more demoralizing than seeing your work turned into something unrecognizable. For a veteran, there’s nothing more infuriating than an editor who believes that anything they touch automatically improves it.
The Coach
The coaching editor reads first.
They talk before typing.
They listen for intent, for the reasoning behind the reporting.
They make time to understand the assignment, the strategy, the sources — and, most importantly, the thought process. They don’t want the story to sound like them. They want it to sound like you.
These editors know that trust isn’t built in edits. It’s built in conversations.
The Real Enemy: Time
Let’s be honest. Ego isn’t the only problem.
The 800-pound gorilla in every newsroom is time.
The “coach” model is slow. It takes time to talk, to ask, to guide. The “rewriter” model is fast. It’s always faster to fix something yourself than to teach someone how. When an editor has five stories in their queue, a deadline in twenty minutes, and metrics breathing down their neck, coaching feels like a luxury. Rewriting becomes a survival skill.
Promoting the Wrong Skill Set
This problem starts long before someone becomes an editor.
It starts with how we promote them.
We elevate great reporters because they’re great at their craft, not because they’ve shown any aptitude for management. We keep confusing excellence in reporting with potential in leadership.
So what happens? A star reporter gets promoted. Suddenly they’re managing a team. And when the only tools you have are reporting and writing, that’s what you fall back on. You “edit” by re-reporting and re-writing.
The Education Gap
This issue starts even earlier — in J-school.
Undergraduate journalism programs teach the Non-Negotiable Core: copy editing, grammar, fact-checking, and headline writing. Then comes the Modern Mandate: digital and multimedia editing. Even the “advanced” work in student newsrooms focuses on fixing stories fast.
What’s missing?
Editorial leadership.
Coaching.
Team management.
Feedback that develops talent instead of eroding it.
Those aren’t considered essential skills. They’re treated as something you’ll “learn on the job.” And most editors never do.
Training Exists — But It’s Optional
There are organizations doing this work.
The American Press Institute, where I work, and the Poynter Institute both offer programs that focus on editorial leadership. But too often, news organizations treat that training as a “nice to have,” not a “must have.”
When budgets shrink, leadership development is always the first to go.
So editors are promoted into management without the single most important skill the job requires: how to lead.
And as any demoralized reporter or infuriated veteran can tell you — far too many never learn.
What Good Looks Like
If we want more coaching editors, we have to start building systems that reward them.
It can’t rely on luck or personality anymore.
Here’s what that can look like:
1. Shadow editing.
Pair new editors with experienced mentors — not just for copy review, but for how they coach. Let them sit in on pre-edits, feedback sessions, and postmortems. Watching a good editor guide a reporter is one of the best forms of training we have.
2. Structured debriefs.
After a big project or breaking-news push, make time for a 15-minute conversation: What worked? What didn’t? What could we do differently next time? Those micro-reflections turn deadlines into learning loops.
3. Coaching hours.
Build coaching time into the workflow. Just like newsrooms schedule air checks or fact-checking windows, create recurring time for editors to talk with their reporters before and after publication. Protect it as part of the job, not something that happens “if there’s time.”
4. Leadership rotations.
Give emerging editors temporary leadership assignments — managing a small project, mentoring an intern, running a daily meeting. Let them experience management in small, supported doses before they’re thrown into the deep end.
5. Real investment in leadership training.
Budget for it. Make it part of the newsroom’s professional development plan. Treat coaching and management skills as core competencies, not soft skills. Because they’re not soft — they’re structural.
This isn’t a wish list. It’s infrastructure.
If you want better stories, you need better editors.
If you want better editors, you need better systems that teach and value coaching.
The Way Forward
Every newsroom says it wants better editors.
Maybe it starts by teaching them to be better leaders.
And maybe that begins with one simple change:
Reward the editors who build others up — not just those who fix things fast.
If this piece reminded you of a great editor — or a not-so-great one — share it with them.
And if you’re building better editors where you work, tell me how. I’d love to feature a few examples in a future post.
P.S. - If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience?
This spreads the word and keeps me writing the types of content that you have enjoyed.