> If you disagree with your manager, your performance review will suffer, you will be called disagreeable, hard to work with,etc
I think your experiences sound like a case of a very bad coworker, whether manager or not.
I don't want a manager who knows nothing about the applications and the architecture. I have no desire to punch a clock and be coddled with public mentions and work parties. I want to work with people (including my manager) who want to solve problems together, and solve them the right way.
There may be problems that arise because my manager is busy trying to do technical work but I'll take that any day over a manager who can barely speak the same domain-specific language, constantly gets facts wrong, gets upset as a result of their misunderstandings, applies arbitrary deadlines and expectations, and calls for endless status requests in the midst of all this. No thanks.
Oh and forget any kind of technical direction! Because your manager is forced to accept what people tell them, it becomes a free-for-all where the programmer with the biggest ego wins.
And yes, I too am essentially just describing a hypothetical bad coworker. There are probably some great managers out there who are ignorant of the technology. (Ugh.) But I will put my money on 'technically proficient' or 'involved in the code' every single time.
I think your experiences sound like a case of a very bad coworker, whether manager or not.
I don't want a manager who knows nothing about the applications and the architecture. I have no desire to punch a clock and be coddled with public mentions and work parties. I want to work with people (including my manager) who want to solve problems together, and solve them the right way.
There may be problems that arise because my manager is busy trying to do technical work but I'll take that any day over a manager who can barely speak the same domain-specific language, constantly gets facts wrong, gets upset as a result of their misunderstandings, applies arbitrary deadlines and expectations, and calls for endless status requests in the midst of all this. No thanks.
Oh and forget any kind of technical direction! Because your manager is forced to accept what people tell them, it becomes a free-for-all where the programmer with the biggest ego wins.
And yes, I too am essentially just describing a hypothetical bad coworker. There are probably some great managers out there who are ignorant of the technology. (Ugh.) But I will put my money on 'technically proficient' or 'involved in the code' every single time.