I've been exposed to many big co. IT depts and there's a conflict inherent in the situation I believe. You're there to fill a slot (do one specific job) - even

I've been exposed to many big co. IT depts and there's a conflict inherent in the situation I believe. You're there to fill a slot (do one specific job) - even more likely in big co than in small co. but the smarter someone is - the more difficult to keep them motivated. So the smarter/better employee is more likely to be unhappy. I think this is where having non-technical people managing technical people is a mistake. The technical manager is going to empathize much better with their staff and help them stay interested during those periods when a smart person becomes bored with their job. There's ways to do it. Special projects for instance, but it depends on the person. That's where there's no cookie-cutter answer and the manager actually has to make some effort and do their job.