4 ms·

management is a lifetime of experience and they themselves often don't entirely understand what they're doing. My favorite manager of all time just left me alo

management is a lifetime of experience and they themselves often don't entirely understand what they're doing. My favorite manager of all time just left me alone and believed everything I told him when communicating back to the business. It was never clear to me if that was on purpose (he trusted me) or if he was just a lazy ass. And I don't care, I loved working for that man. But if you were to ask him to lay out what makes him such a great manager he'd never be able to do it. These types of bloggers are exactly the people you don't want to be taking management advice from, they have an ulterior motive other than being great managers. They want to *sound* like great managers, not actually be great managers.

gonzo41 3y ago
He probably loved you because you left him alone. You loved him because you're a self starter and didn't want to deal with bullshit and he probably was checked out of life and just wanted to coast. The business you worked for benefited from your goal alignment. Sometimes you have to take non synchronous goals and mash them through a form to press out a result. The middle manager is there drive results, end of story. Friends along the way, is meh. Just look how finance people manage each other.
- tyre 3y ago
  > He probably loved you because you left him alone. Where in the post you’re replying to did you get enough information to make this assumption? As a manager, it’s not my job to prescribe one universal management style for every employee. If I trust someone, they ask for autonomy, are proactive when they need help, and can execute, then a very solid baseline is to let ‘em cook.
- feoren 3y ago
  > Just look how finance people manage each other. Isn't finance in general a dystopian hellscape?
  - antod 3y ago
    As a manager in a startup recently acquired by a large finance company - yes.
bluGill 3y ago
Your story leaves a number of open questions. Would your manager even know if you were not worthy of the trust given? Was your manager guiding you to work on problems that would best grow you to the future (this is a both where you want to go, and where your organization needs you to be - sometimes the two are in conflict!)? Was your manager taking care of the things his bosses needed to know about you? Do not make this a person question about you, it is a generic question about everyone your manager is in charge of. The managers job isn't just to hire good people and stay out of the way.
ericmcer 3y ago
Managers who are well studied in management techniques are often unbearable to me. They lack the acting ability to pass off something they read as their genuine response, so it feels artificial and further divides us. It's like being charismatic. Some people have it naturally, others can develop it over time with real experience, but it isn't something you can pick up in a course.

gonzo41 3y ago

He probably loved you because you left him alone. You loved him because you're a self starter and didn't want to deal with bullshit and he probably was checked out of life and just wanted to coast. The business you worked for benefited from your goal alignment. Sometimes you have to take non synchronous goals and mash them through a form to press out a result. The middle manager is there drive results, end of story. Friends along the way, is meh. Just look how finance people manage each other.

tyre 3y ago
> He probably loved you because you left him alone. Where in the post you’re replying to did you get enough information to make this assumption? As a manager, it’s not my job to prescribe one universal management style for every employee. If I trust someone, they ask for autonomy, are proactive when they need help, and can execute, then a very solid baseline is to let ‘em cook.
feoren 3y ago
> Just look how finance people manage each other. Isn't finance in general a dystopian hellscape?
- antod 3y ago
  As a manager in a startup recently acquired by a large finance company - yes.

bluGill 3y ago

Your story leaves a number of open questions. Would your manager even know if you were not worthy of the trust given? Was your manager guiding you to work on problems that would best grow you to the future (this is a both where you want to go, and where your organization needs you to be - sometimes the two are in conflict!)? Was your manager taking care of the things his bosses needed to know about you? Do not make this a person question about you, it is a generic question about everyone your manager is in charge of. The managers job isn't just to hire good people and stay out of the way.

ericmcer 3y ago

Managers who are well studied in management techniques are often unbearable to me. They lack the acting ability to pass off something they read as their genuine response, so it feels artificial and further divides us. It's like being charismatic. Some people have it naturally, others can develop it over time with real experience, but it isn't something you can pick up in a course.