[greedo]

I had a boss who lost a new hire to another team. This new hire was an outstanding performer, and the boss simply couldn't see what he had done to cause this. He seriously was in a funk about it for 6 months. Anytime it came up, he went through the stages of grief. Turns out the employee simply didn't like the caliber of teammates, nor the pace of work. He was able to move to a team that tended towards more of a cowboy mentality.

The same manager never fired anyone he hired. He fired a few that he had inherited (even calling them 'deadwood') around other employees. Employees who had worked with the 'deadwood' for decades. But his hires? They could be the worst performers, and even though they were contract to hire, he always hired them. To not hire them would be to admit his hiring practices were crappy. And considering he had little technical knowledge, he was susceptible to hiring people who kissed the ring (and stroked the ego).

Some managers are just bad. Peter Principal and all that. Some are great at telling everyone what they want to hear, both up the chain and down.