[JumpCrisscross]

> how much of this middle management heavy organizational structure was introduced by cultures that place undue significance to 'becoming a manager'

Big teams need management. Small teams, less so. The largest tech companies are larger today than ever before. And there are more tech companies above virtually any threshold now than there were then. It follows that the average person in tech now works at a larger company than previously.

The number of people in small start-ups may be larger than ever before. But, because of the distribution, they're outnumbered still by those in large organizations that require bureaucracy to stay aligned.