My name is Ash, and I was a manager

 

"My name is Ash, and I was a manager"

Sometimes I feel like I should say that in a circle of other former managers and get a ripple of applause for admitting it. 

Pitchforks at the ready.....

Every time I open Twitter or LinkedIn I see a pithy saying about managers, the reasons why your manager is out to get you, or in the way, an unfeeling monster, the root of all that is wrong in the software development world. Managers are generalised and stereotyped mercilessly, oddly enough by those who accuse same managers of the self same behaviour.  

Some dislike specific managers or at least personality types of managers, some management as a concept, some say management is confused with leadership and vice versa. A legion of reasons to mistrust, expressed in many ways.

Because reasons....

Now, I'm not an idiot, this mistrust has been earned. As a consultant to various companies I've seen some very inhumane approaches to management executed by, quite frankly, unstoppable morons with some horrendous results. Broken confidence or even careers justified by terrifying organisational values (or the dreaded 'commercial reality', the catch all excuse for awful treatment of fellow humans), utterly opposed to the contradictions plastered on their marketing material. Maybe people think that about me. I hope not.

This might earn me some grief....

But you know what. for the most part, I'm proud to have managed people, helped them with their immediate and long term goals, provided direction if they needed it and most of all, trusted them to get the job done using their expertise. If I helped them meet their goals and represent the wider organisation, then I can stand by my work. The world is getting flatter and I'm all for it. I enjoy my autonomy, it is a fundamental need that most of us share.

Thinking locally....

Whenever I see the latest 'why managers are bad' schtick, I think of my own manager in my previous role. That person earned but never expected my trust, gave me timely, meaningful feedback and provided a non-judgemental sounding board. If someone can do that, how can it be bad? Maybe I was just lucky.

Now I've got no one to manage but myself. Hard work. :-)