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Sounds like you had a great director who was willing to shield their org from bs top-down demands.

I didn't appreciate this skill until I had a manager who did the same for me. Having a manager who can ruthlessly prioritize, set expectations, and help navigate all of the corporate bureaucracy is a godsend.

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Having once been that manager, let me just add that there is a price to pay: all the corporate BS normally reserved for a whole team now lands on one person's shoulders. Combined with some personal stuff, this broke me.

When you come across a clear occasion of crap having been deflected from landing on you, do the right thing: show some appreciation for it to your manager. It goes a long way.

It sounds like you were a fantastic manager who cared about their team, I'm very sorry to hear that. Seems like it can be a very thankless job a lot of the time.

Hopefully we can normalize showing appreciation from all directions (direct reports, sr mgrs, directors, etc.) for those who deserve it.

While the corporate world is strange and toxic on many levels, being on a solid team where everyone has each other's backs (necessary because of the warring-fractions-like relationships within the same company), is a bonding and exhilarating experience.

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