> 2. Bad managers are the cause of a lot of workplace failure, i.e., late projects, subpar products, and unmet goals.
> 3. Managers are one of the most under-supported cohorts of employees on the planet.
Agree on the first two, but for #3: managers are perhaps the most OVER-supported cohorts of employees on the planet. Much of the time, simply by being a manager, you're qualified to be a manager somewhere else. The single most important aspect of hiring a manager is ensuring that they're not an asshole and that they've demonstrated an ability to deliver.
In terms of actually delivering after being hired, depending on level, a manager gets a ton of slack in terms of demonstrating their skills compared to an IC. I've seen devs fired on their start date for not being able to hire, but bad managers can weasel their way around for more than a year before they're shown the door. It gets even worse at the director, VP, SVP level, and they're usually never outright fired — it's usually framed as they "decided to prioritize time with their family" or similar.
Like any set of skills — if you want to develop management skills, the onus is on you to make sure it happens. Most of the time, nobody is going to hold your hand into becoming a staff+ engineer, and the same goes for management.