> My workaround was to coach non-technical managers to pick up clues from the person's peers. If you privately ask 3 random team members to estimate tasks and 1 person constantly gives estimates 10x longer than anyone else, that person should be watched closely for performance issues.

So I had a boss who would call a group meeting, bring up a problem that needs to be solved, and ask people who can do it. One engineer would explain that this is a research-level AI problem that would take years to solve, another engineer would say he's going to have some time to hack on it later in the week, and a third would say that he can pull an all-nighter tonight and solve it. So the manager would pat himself on the back for a job well done. He created a spirit of healthy competition in the team, he exposed the slacker (the first engineer) for what he is, and he squeezed the third engineer for all he got. A year later, the team would be back in the same place, with the manager calling a meeting and bringing up the same problem, which as it turns out the users are still suffering from and higher-ups in management are pestering him about again.