[onion2k]

The best managers I've worked with don't do much of that stuff. They do use the cliches and obfuscation, but only upwards. They talk to the team in the team's language. As for the crap coming down from the leaders, if anything, the best quality in a manager is understanding what is crap and what's actually useful, and deflecting the crap stuff before it gets anywhere.

[jghn]

This is something I learned in management that I think also made me a better engineer. It's important to be able to code switch on the fly. Shift your whole persona to fit in with the group with which you're immediately dealing, and be able to translate things into their own language. Then go to the next group and immediately morph to fit their culture. Rinse & repeat.

[badpun]

> The best managers I've worked with don't do much of that stuff. They do use the cliches and obfuscation, but only upwards. They talk to the team in the team's language.

It's not a big consolation because, esp. in larger organizations, managers spend most time speaking to other managers, not to their team.