Something for non-technical managers to ponder
Something I've encountered ever since I started working for extremely large companies (at least the ones I've been hired for) is that usually these projects are drowning in technical debt, everyone is stressed out and no one is happy.
So, when I see these things I begin a conversation with my manager to explain what I see and try to help by itemizing some things we should do to improve. The problem is that I just started the position, so the manager's typical response is "let's start by just getting you integrated into the current system and get you productive with how things are currently, then we can talk about these things you're bringing up".
The problem with this is that I'm bringing up these problems because I don't see how I'm going to be able to be as productive without fixing them. So what's inevitably going to happen is this: I'm going to remain frustrated for the length of time I'm on the project, I will never "stand out" because I can't find ways to be productive in our project, then when the manager eventually decides I'm no more productive than anyone else on the team he ultimately decides not to take any of my advice and the project remains unproductive, always chasing down bugs, and I will end up quitting because there's no hope that this will become a project I enjoy working on. A year or more into my time with the project we're STILL just as unproductive and stressed out as when I started working on the project.
If you're a non-technical manager you need to find better "filters" for how you decide who you're going to trust with the "big picture" for the projects you manage, because if you don't you're never going to attract (and retain) the people who know how to help you turn your project around.