[tannerc]

Your first point rings so true it hurts.

I've talked with many of my now manager peers and they seem to not understand that simply walking into a room with "manager" or "director" in your title gives you almost immediate clout (or something similar). Whereas if you enter a room as a "senior IC" there's just not as much authority inherent in your presence.

It's unfortunate, it's not right, but it seems to be true.