I've heard this opinion many times,
that management is a different skill to those being managed, but I've had many shit managers who were shit because they didn't understand what I do or what I know.

I'd much rather be managed by someone who has a decent working knowledge and experience of what they are managing. Tall order, I know :-(
(MrOli is ugly, but in the morning you will be sober, Mon 31 May 2010, 21:29, 1 reply)

Fair point, but...
... management is itself a skill. JUST having done a particular job for a long period of time does not, in itself, qualify anyone for promotion to manage a team of other people who also have do the same job.

So, while you're right that it helps enormously if a manager knows the jobs and skills of his or her team as well as having an MBA from Smartarse University, having done scrobble polishing for 30 years then being promoted to manager of a team of scrobble polishers doesn't automatically mean the team will suddenly perform better.

Business's problem is that, in deciding the way to deliver shareholder value is to outsource training (among other things), they rely on fresh-from-college managerial know-nothings being able to pick up the on-the-job skills very quickly. 30 years ago, they'd pay for their own people to go to business school, and get someone with a wealth of real job experience AND managerial skills. Nowadays they just get a wannabe tycoon with a lot of personal debt to pay off. And a very slightly higher stock price.
Tossers
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Tue 1 Jun 2010, 15:17, closed)