Your manager might write your check, but you’re the one paying them

I’ve spent the last few years “climbing the corporate ladder” at Palantir and working closely with a variety of organizations like oil companies, intelligence agencies, and research institutions. This has offered a unique vantage to see these different structures up close. One fact has become very clear: no one seems to know what management is.

People choose to be managed then complain about their manager. They work hard for managerial roles then hate them when they get them. Many who like managerial roles actually like abusing their new power and the people below them.

This is an attempt to provide a model of management that’s more true to the lived experience of climbing the corporate ladder, and it has the added benefit of reframing the manager’s role into something that is much more difficult to abuse.

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!