I had a similar experience thought not quite as outstanding.
The best manager I had was:
- focused on organizational efficiency. She’d tell you “you three, make a decision” instead of groups of 10+, which seemed to be the default
- wouldn’t sugar coat things, but was never mean (many leaders miss this). If she disagreed you knew it but it was done in a respectful way.
- the best part of her management was goal setting. I was 3 goals, and even 10 years later I still rattle them off. Short, actionable. Her attitude was “if your work doesn’t move towards these goals, stop doing it”
Like you, it’s hard to work in jobs later when management isn’t up to snuff.
It is possible to have efficient, well managed large organizations.
It’s just that the vast majority of managers don’t have the skills and as you said, without someone at the top setting the rules it never works.
The best manager I had was:
- focused on organizational efficiency. She’d tell you “you three, make a decision” instead of groups of 10+, which seemed to be the default
- wouldn’t sugar coat things, but was never mean (many leaders miss this). If she disagreed you knew it but it was done in a respectful way.
- the best part of her management was goal setting. I was 3 goals, and even 10 years later I still rattle them off. Short, actionable. Her attitude was “if your work doesn’t move towards these goals, stop doing it”
Like you, it’s hard to work in jobs later when management isn’t up to snuff.
It is possible to have efficient, well managed large organizations.
It’s just that the vast majority of managers don’t have the skills and as you said, without someone at the top setting the rules it never works.