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by psunavy03 394 days ago
The fact that you think random middle managers are all that psychopathic really says more about you than it does some hypothetical middle manager.

Are their psychopaths and Machiavellian schemers in management? Certainly. Are they the majority? Almost certainly not, unless you're working for absolutely the wrong company.

As the Brits would say, "cock-up before conspiracy."
1 comments
Capricorn2481 394 days ago
No. It may not be conscious Machiavellian scheme, but it's a common attitude among middle managers. They are extremely sensitive to their reputation, which is why they punish people who make them look bad, even if it's something good for the company. Finding security vulnerabilities or wasted resources is met with an ambiguous hostility.

And unfortunately, a lot of people aren't emotionally intelligent enough to recognize that many managers use emotional reactions to redirect the room away from them. Because if you're the angry one, people won't ask questions like "didn't someone mention the possibility of this to you 6 months ago?"

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psunavy03 394 days ago
Everyone is extremely sensitive to their reputation. That is just human nature. Someone who can't factor that into their actions and communications is frankly lacking basic social skills.
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Capricorn2481 389 days ago
> Everyone is extremely sensitive to their reputation. That is just human nature

I don't really agree with that, but let's say I do. Middle management is a unique position where their sensitivity is a bigger liability to everyone else. They have some power, but not a lot. They ironically have higher visibility in the company than upper management. And the job requires 0 technical understanding of what they manage.

So that puts them in an awkward position that is often abused. If they feel someone is going to get in trouble, they will make sure that's not them, which is a terribly common instinct. When a developer tells the company there is a problem to address that could threaten the product, that's a good thing that should be welcomed. Instead, many middle managers see that developer as the problem.

> Someone who can't factor that into their actions and communications is frankly lacking basic social skills.

No argument there.

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