> As a first-level manager my job is all about execution and getting things done. Being in 20+ hours of meetings a week gives me a lot more perspective on the b

> As a first-level manager my job is all about execution and getting things done. Being in 20+ hours of meetings a week gives me a lot more perspective on the big picture than the ICs on my team. > They often think certain work is important because they have a very myopic view of what we do. I am always looking for the ICs to drive our work, and expect the more senior people to come to the table with ideas. Sometimes those ideas are great, and they have a low-level perspective that I am missing because my nose isn’t in the code as much as it once was (it still is, and I still commit code, but it’s opportunistic and not that frequent). But often they get stuck on fixing whatever the most recent thing that bothered them about our code rather than on what actually impacts customers in the long or short term. I would love to hear your perspective (or pointers to other resources that might explain this better) on how one can effectively communicate this kinda of context with ICs. I've worked with managers who have been from "fully transparent about org dynamics" to "Ill shield you from shit (i.e. politics)". Personally, I prefer the former approach as an IC since I respect honesty and the truth, so e.g. if its a political decision I can simply stop trying to push for another direction. However, I understand that this kind of radical transparency might come at a cost and might only work with certain kinds of ICs.