> The org sets the direction and we decide how to implement it. This is key. "Good" managers can manage the expectations of the org to enforce this kind of re

> The org sets the direction and we decide how to implement it. This is key. "Good" managers can manage the expectations of the org to enforce this kind of relationship if the org wants to be pushy or micromanage-y. They insulate their team to create a real sense of agency and ownership. It's nice that your org makes your manager's job easy in this regard. "Bad" managers are the opposite, they just dump the poorly-defined, poorly-justified demands onto their ICs. When they can't figure out why things aren't going well, they call for many hours of meetings with their ICs to hash out in detail how the implementation should proceed, which typically ends up being nothing more than the manager trying different ways of convincing their ICs to do it the way they already imagine it should go.