[gambiting]

>>If you're a manager, managing 50 people.

How does that even happen? I work at a large corporation and our goal is to never ever have teams larger than 8, with 6 being the optimal size. I'm currently managing 5 people and it's already hard work, I can't imagine managing 50.

[ebiester]

It often means that your manager is doing nothing but the administration around management, and your team leads are pseudo-managers.

There are three forms of management: The team lead as manager, the manager that has 2-4 teams and is responsible for communication flow in the system, and the pure administrative manager overseeing a community of developers that are self-managing.

I hate the pure administrative manager model.

[tjalfi]

Sometimes it's a deliberate policy; Engines of Democracy[0] is about an aircraft engine plant with 170 employees and 1 manager.

[0] https://www.fastcompany.com/37815/engines-democracy

[gilbetron]

It could be that the original poster was literal, but more likely it is that the person has 50 people total under them. So there are 8 teams of 5 people, each with their own manager, and while the managers are direct reports, likely all of them are considered to be managed by the original poster. A good higher-level manager likes to maintain contact and stay involved with everyone underneath them, probably weighted by the seniority of the individuals.

[Aeolun]

> How does that even happen?

Very badly