To ask how many of you have actually had a good manager?

[ThatGutsyRubyBiscuit]

I’ve been working for over 12 years and thinking back, I can’t name a single manager who’s genuinely had a positive impact on me. Some were outright awful, some were just meh but I’ve never had one I’d describe as genuinely good. I’ve seen good ones on other teams, just never mine.

I don’t have a high bar either. I don’t need to be best friends with my manager or get special treatment. I just want someone competent, fair and who actually wants to manage people but even that feels rare. The only people I know who rave about their manager actually happen to be the ones getting clear favouritism.

AIBU to think most managers either don’t want the job or shouldn’t be doing it?

I've had a mix of good and bad managers in my career.
My current manager is bloody great. I trust her implicitly, she's got my back and she lets me get on with my job. I'd defend her to the hilt.

No - I'm nearly 15 years older than her 🤣

My manager is older than me (and it's me first job after uni) so that's why.

My manager is in the main awesome. Sometimes a bit weak but given it's such a rare occurrence I presume there is reasoning behind it that I'm not privy to.

I'm an exceptional manager

Ah, when you’ve slogged for decades, all a manager becomes is someone who approves your annual leave and does your annual appraisal. Oh and generally doesn’t actually know how to do your job.

My last one was wonderful. When she announced she was leaving the meeting went silent.

There was one when I worked at an agency. Her name was Carol and she made me feel so comfortable. She would step in and out the room and used to help out as well. She retired but I often think of her.

In 20 years of office working I've only ever had one good manager. He was ex army, worked with him until he retired, softly spoken but took no nonsense and stood by his team, and didn't take himself or anyone else too seriously. He was fabulous.

The other managers have ranged from being incompetent, bored or just plain vicious.

I agree that most managers don't want to be one though, I'm being pushed to take on line management for the first time when I've made it clear I don't want it and am happy being the specialist for my field. My current boss is pushing me so she doesn't have to line manage these people herself. It's a fight I'm going to lose I know it, and I don't want to be one of these poor managers people talk about. I know my strengths and line management is not one of them.

I'd agree with this rationale - and also the ratio! (Ie a few good managers from the many I've worked with/for).

People management isn't just a separate skillset, it's also one that is on the back burner in terms of training for a lot of organisations, because there are other more immediately pressing matters that managers have to prioritise. This can lead to problems down the line wrt retention, but a lot of organisations don't factor that in, and when things do go tits up they will just default to HR processes, often with disastrous results.

Ime the old public sector model of progression, including long term training, salary increments and a culture of gradual promotion from within (thus retaining job specific expertise and commitment to workplace culture) gives the best managers - but hardly anybody works to that model these days, including the public sector itself.

Environments that breed the worst managers are the ones where promotion isn't decided by performance but by value added eg law firms have a terrible managerial culture, because the senior people are the ones who bring in the most money, regardless of whether they're civil or decent colleagues.

That's understandable then

I'm afraid you'll probably get more bitter and twisted as you go through your work career though. 🤣

My current manager is new but seems great so far. My previous 3 mangers were also fair, reasonable and supportive.
One previous to that when I was fresh out of university was horrible. Sneaky and deceitful.
I think I have been exceptionally lucky but also why I have stayed in the same place for a long time.

Mine is brilliant, helps when asked but otherwise trusts us to get on with things. We all got laid off recently and he spent time thinking of new job opportunities for me.

She's perfectly nice and friendly to me. 4 years older. I've honestly not disliked anyone at work currently.

I’ve only ever had one bad manager. He was overbearing and a terrible micromanager. The rest had been brilliant. I’ve mostly had female managers (which is extremely uncommon in my industry), and they’ve been nurturing, supportive, and trust me to get on with things!

I've had two really good managers, both men. Both genuinely nice people who were concerned with the wellbeing of their staff, as well as being good motivators and always approachable.

I've had some excellent managers, most have been good, and only a few bad ones.

My last one (I've just retired) was fantastic: really supportive, had a proper handle on everything without interfering, and was brilliant at her own job as well. She fought to get our jobs regraded because changes in the law made the work more complex. She was so discreet that when we had a slacker on the team, none of us had an inkling that hey were on a performance management plan until after they'd left.

There was a bad deputy manager on the previous team I was on, but they weren't my line manager so rarely affected me. She was "managed out" in a restructuring: they reassigned her to the far side of the county from where she lived, she copped the hump about the length of the commute and got another job.

See my username. 🙄

I think I've had a few fair managers in my time, I've had quite a lot of jobs and I can only think of two where the manager was specifically awful. OK, 3 counting this one.

My manager is great. Very supportive, has my back, gives good feedback and issues R&R for job well done. I like to think (and get feedback to back this up) that i’m also a good manager.

I think my manager is great. She is a lot younger than me, and she’s very competent, professional, kind, caring, and on the ball.

I have a great manager. My username is based on an unknown medical condition my daughter had. She was in and out of hospital, we had scans, minor ops, days and days of me being out of the office for over two years. She was fab. I work for the nhs myself so I’d be on my laptop whenever possible, but she would be totally understanding when I’d have to unexpectedly dip off if the doctor came to her bedside. I’ve also had bullying issues at school which caused me to be off work with stress whilst I sorted the same child. My boss has been so incredibly flexible and I’m so lucky.

I try to be the same with my team. No one should feel scared about phoning in sick. No one should be anxious about telling me about a job interview. I fully support personal development and I try to help them with interview pointers wherever possible. I had a terrible boss when I had small children and it made my life very hard. I can remember suspecting my youngest had chicken pox but still putting them in nursery in hope this tiny little spot disappeared. She had previously had spots with viral illnesses so maybe it was that. I’d just arrived at work and got the call to come back to collect. My boss hit the roof. I started looking for a new job that day and it resonates with me to never be that person. I get that jobs need to be done, but life sometimes gets in the way and we all need to work together to find the right solution.

My manager is amazing, I’m very lucky and grateful to have her.
She is the only one I’ve ever had that has shown even an ounce of respect, compassion and human decency.

A few examples of what she has done for myself and my colleagues:

-Regularly lets us leave early for appointments, to collect children etc.
-Never schedules us to work on our birthdays.
-Always makes sure she tries to get us as much time off as possible (we work shift work, so not Mon-Fri).
-Never moans, complains, is ‘funny’ if we call in sick etc.
-If we tell her there is a specific day that we can’t work, she schedules our work days around that.
-Always asks after our kids/partners/family.
-Pays for our Christmas meal (she is also the CEO of the company).
-Gives us lifts to/from work if our cars are in for MOTs-we breakdown/ any other reason.

She is the main reason that despite the rubbish pay (just above NMW) I stay at my job because I love it.

I've had a great manager. I'm still in touch with him nearly 15 years after we parted ways.

Most of the rest have been fine, but I've had one who reduced me to tears on a daily basis driving into work. I wish I'd had the strength to quit, but st the time it was so overwhelming, I just couldn't see straight. Those are the managers who need to go - the ones who destroy peoples lives.

I've had 1 good manager.
I'm mid 50s and had plenty of jobs, I normally leave shit ones though

Currently have 2 line managers for 2 different aspects of my job. In my 50s. Both the best I have worked for. Complete trust and autonomy, if I ask ‘can I….?’ The answer is always yes. Left to get on with stuff. Supported when required. Very lucky.

I’ve had a couple of really excellent managers. People who have been really good at their jobs, who I’ve learned from and who have helped me grow and develop my skills. They have facilitated my work without micromanaging, have cleared the way when projects have got a bit stuck and who weren’t afraid to tackle difficulties in the team. They’ve recognised my work and have represented me well in different meetings and groups, generously crediting me with successes when it’s mattered.

Yes they’ve also been supportive of my needs in terms of work and times I’ve needed support for non-work stuff but the professional support and development has meant as much.

My current manager is retiring this week - she has been amazing and I’m genuinely gutted to see her go.