[P5fRxh5kUvp2th]

> Were they a great manager simply because they let you do what you wanted, without any deeper guidance or feedback?

Why do I get the feeling you're a technical manager trying to rationalize why you don't trust your developers?

The entirety of your second paragraph speaks to a belief that developers can't manage themselves. That without a manager, no work would get done and no software written.

But having been in this game for roughly 25 years now, I promise you I know how to get software written successfully. What I need is the manager to __believe and trust__ me when I tell them something. There's a vast difference between a negotiation to figure out what can be done in the next 2 weeks and arguing with a fuckwit who thinks they know better than you despite moving into management after 2-3 years of software development.

[spdionis]

Most managers I've known would love to have someone to "believe and trust" to delegate stuff to.

I feel like the micromanaging managers simply don't have enough work to do? I personally celebrate everytime I find a developer who can manage themselves, their work, and if they can also manage the team (at least partly) that's amazing!

[musingsole]

Desiring a coworker you can trust and trusting the coworker you have are too very different things.

I'd love to be a good person, but these pies aren't going to steal themselves.

[prmph]

> Why do I get the feeling you're a technical manager trying to rationalize why you don't trust your developers?

Because you're not reading my comment carefully, and ignoring the caveats I've put in my comment (it's a problem I've noticed with communication in general; people respond as if I don't mean them).

This is what I said: > On a basic level, yes a manager needs to have reasonable trust in his team members and be able to interact with them well.

So I do agree that trust is important. Feedback and guidance is not about lack of trust, and I'm not sure why you're confusing the two.

For what it's worth, I prefer a manager who is engaged with what I'm doing, not micro-managing me, but helping me to align my efforts with the overall picture.

[P5fRxh5kUvp2th]

> and I'm not sure why you're confusing the two.

pegged you correctly.