1 manager, 9 engineers (or more). The ratio of investment per employee might not align up to the investment in function - the investment might be spread 20%/80

1 manager, 9 engineers (or more). The ratio of investment per employee might not align up to the investment in function - the investment might be spread 20%/80% between both functions. I've worked with (uh, "under" feels insulting) really good managers who truly earn their pay & it has given me a different perspective of what they do to make "things happen". I've cut that down into literally four levels of management - delegation, negotiation, inspiration & vision. Those who merely delegate are hard to work with, those who negotiate for you are good, those who inspire you to pick up risks are great and those who can see ahead six months to realign/nudge a team to build new skills is just awesome. On another note though, I'd rather have no management than bad management - there are those who do none of those things, while fulfilling Peter Principle.