Conditions of managerial work have gotten way harder in the last 5y

- Employees in stealth gig-mode

- Endemic quiet quitting

- $ a weaker, less direct motivator

- Fewer, more ambiguous environment signals

- Distant, hands-off leaders

- DEI, ESG type constraints

- Takes 3x higher EQ

- Thankless

- No real payoff

Delver at contraptions.venkateshrao.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

I have never done line management, and have much less project management energy than I used to. And feels like more than just aging. 

A decade ago, people my current age (48) were in their managerial prime and enjoying it. Enjoying it and feeling valued. Even if no path to executive suite.

Now… going through motion

Radical thought: What if management and leadership were simply the biggest extended cinematic universe of the last 30y, and it’s now gone into reruns.

The managerial era is ending not with a bang, but a whimper.

The task of the non-clueless ones, managing motivation for larger groups and keeping belief alive is now left to individuals. Even the previously frequent doses of charismatic leadership from on high are gone now. Just recycled Steve Jobs clips.