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by zelphirkalt 702 days ago
> It helped that I was either a CTO or a senior enough exec in those cases with 3-8 agile teams. I essentially was the middle management and could put a stop to any destructive practices like evaluating teams against their velocity.

I am sure teams quite appreciated you shielding them from overzealous management. But here is a thought: Doesn't this stand or fall with you being there or leaving? Will the next middle management be as capable and looking out to shield the teams from the destructive influence? Why not change the system, so that the middle management does not need to shield the engineers?
1 comments
8organicbits 702 days ago
A manager cannot protect teams after they leave. The new manager can change all the existing process when they take over, and you're back to square one.
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zelphirkalt 702 days ago
I understand that. So the question arises: Is it more difficult for a new manager to ruin the work processes through inaction (not shielding the team) or by reworking established processes? My bet is on it being very easy through inaction.
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stackskipton 702 days ago
Most of time, I find new manager was brought in to be a yes person because previous manager quit due to conflicts with their management that maybe you didn't see.
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