This is an editorial written by someone who is heavily biased and doesn't know how management or organizational improvement works.
> In my case, I didn't need someone to manage what we already did. I needed someone frustrated by our current level of productivity. Someone irritated by our current level of quality.
That's called Operations Management, buddy, and you don't hire an IC for that job.
> Someone annoyed by the fact very few shopfloor employees were being promoted to higher-level roles.
That is literally every manager's job. And, one could argue, a bad idea in general (see Peter Principle).
> "If your boss could do your job, you're more likely to be happy at work."
Why? Because the boss has empathy and compassion for her workers, and makes an effort to understand the work. That doesn't mean she has to do the work herself. She simply needs the context and understanding to be able to facilitate effectively and make her reports happy. Anybody who cares enough can do that.
I have had IC bosses who were insufferable, and non-IC bosses who were insufferable, and good bosses of each too. The ability to do the work has both helped and hindered their management. Focus on efficiency is good, but often efficiency isn't technical at all.
Managing is it's own skill, separate from being an IC. Simply promoting an IC who does not know how to manage will not always lead to good outcomes.
> In my case, I didn't need someone to manage what we already did. I needed someone frustrated by our current level of productivity. Someone irritated by our current level of quality.
That's called Operations Management, buddy, and you don't hire an IC for that job.
> Someone annoyed by the fact very few shopfloor employees were being promoted to higher-level roles.
That is literally every manager's job. And, one could argue, a bad idea in general (see Peter Principle).
> "If your boss could do your job, you're more likely to be happy at work."
Why? Because the boss has empathy and compassion for her workers, and makes an effort to understand the work. That doesn't mean she has to do the work herself. She simply needs the context and understanding to be able to facilitate effectively and make her reports happy. Anybody who cares enough can do that.
I have had IC bosses who were insufferable, and non-IC bosses who were insufferable, and good bosses of each too. The ability to do the work has both helped and hindered their management. Focus on efficiency is good, but often efficiency isn't technical at all.
Managing is it's own skill, separate from being an IC. Simply promoting an IC who does not know how to manage will not always lead to good outcomes.