Hacker News Reader

This is a good post, something I struggled with after switching from Ic to manager. Both extremes are bad news as a manager - there is a reason the officers and enlisted are kept separate in the military. Technically it’s a hierarchy, but the separation is important due to the different nature of the jobs.

View on HN

I don’t think most jobs need a comparison to a military hierarchy. In general, lives are not on the line.

It is entirely possible to be friends with employees. You are not a king, or a despot, or a colonel in the armed forces. The first big mistake new managers make is to try to still act like a single contributor. The second one is taking the management part of the job too seriously.

Yes and no...a manager in any other enterprise won't be in the position of having to give people orders which will almost definitely kill them.

Conversely: you're in charge - in some way, of hiring, firing, salary and promotions even if not directly. People don't generally have multiple jobs, the relationship of employee to business is a direct stake in their private financial situation.

To be clear, I don't think establishing dominance is the end goal - there is just a natural distance between ICs and managers, similar to the enlisted/officer split in the military. IME, managers that want to be friends with ICs aren't as effective.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com