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Why managers deserve more understanding
Don’t overdo the sympathy, but the job is both necessary and demanding.
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A world without managers is a nice idea. But teams need leaders, irrespective of the quality of the people in charge.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
The Economist
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Management is not a heroic calling. There is no Marvel character called "Captain Slide Deck". Books and television shows set in offices are more likely to be comedic than admiring. When dramas depict the workplace, managers are almost always covering up some kind of chemical spill.
Horrible bosses loom large in reality as well as in the popular imagination: if people leave their jobs, they often do so to escape bad managers. And any praise for decent bosses is tempered by the fact that they are usually paid more than the people they manage: they should be good.
