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Comment by gabereiser | Hacker News Reader

Oh how I wish I could upvote this more. You called it. Managers get support that ICs only dream about. They can fail time and time again and get promoted. They can screw up deadlines and project priorities and continue to do what they do. I’ve had some great managers, I’ve had some bad ones too. I strive the be a great one myself by practicing what I preach. Servant leadership.

What are some red flags to look for in a manager that would indicate to the IC they have one before it’s too late?

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It's not even just that. I've worked for great bosses, but they're never the kind of bosses that get promoted, they stay exactly where they are. It's the massive egomaniacal "going to need you to come in on Sunday, too" types that get actually get promoted and survive every round of layoffs. Every "good manager" opinion piece is invariably somebody's take on how they wish _their_ boss would treat them, not how to be the soulless sycophant that actually makes for a successful manager in corporate America.

Optics. The person who says “yeah, about those TPS reports” is the same person providing upper leadership with reports where they are showing detailed progress towards initiatives. Regardless of how they get there. They see resources, not people, because they themselves are a resource for upper leadership. Empathy flows downhill. Maybe all those opinion pieces about how to be a good manager are from folks needing an outlet to vent about their bad one. That’s ok. The point is, results are what the business wants to see. Bad managers often deliver those “good results” at the expense of those “resources” beneath them. Constantly hiring empty chairs to fulfill the requirements to getting results.

It’s a tough game.

Lack of accountability is not the same as support.

It actually much closer to the opposite of what the author seems to mean, which is help improving.

I see what you’re saying and deeply feel where you’re coming from, but I think you’re identifying a different malignancy.

Lack of accountability is one. Supporting each other at the management level is another. Just like you support your team members, they support each other.

The level of support the company affords managers and up is measurably more than the support they give an IC.

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