[tayo42]

> The most productive team I’ve been on did not have a manager.

Ive been in the weird scenario of not having a real manager a couple times. One time it was how you described. Another was pretty bad, we basically became the dumping ground for unwanted projects and tedious work because we didn't have authority to say no.

[dxdenton]

Yes, a good manager shields the team from distractions and lets them focus. I know I sound anti-mgr but I’m not. I’ve had some rly good one who gave us autonomy, trusted us, but also held us accountable. It seems most managers don’t subscribe to the servant leadership philosophy, but are prone to the dictator style (ie team members are subordinates whose role is to implement the (not shared) vision.