[zensavona]

In my ~9 years of experience, most engineering jobs I've stayed have been because the manager was an enabler who trusted my experience and would help remove blockers to getting things done.

I know we like to shit on engineering managers a lot here at HN but having worked with great managers, terrible managers and playing the role for a short stint myself (a humbling experience, where I was not happy with my own performance), I realise the critical role a good manager can play to bring out the best in the team, and conversely how a bad one can bring out the worst.

[zerocount]

In my ~13 years of experience, I've never worked under a manager who enabled or trusted me. I've always left a job because of new management, a policy instituted by a manager, or because the manager made me work on holidays, or being available to clients on my vacation. Generally, it's the 'shit on the employee in the name of the client' that pisses me off.

I'm of the opinion now that managers are a waste of resources and amount to baby-sitters who attend meetings, approve time off, and try to get me to work more.

I haven't met a manager yet who made a positive contribution to a project. There's a reason people shit on them!

[xenihn]

In the current employees' market, I feel that a manager's primary responsibility is preventing their engineers from quitting.

[itistricky]

There are such managers (enablers who trust you). The irony is that usually you get them on doomed ships that refuse to change their ways anyway.