We need motivation (good managers)

Most programmers program for fun in th their free time. If you want to motivate us, then don't do things that demotivate us and you'll find us motivated.

What demotivates me are meetings with outcomes I don't care about. I don't care about story points, and meetings focused on story points demotivate me. I'm demotivated by sprints followed by another sprint followed by another sprint; the problem is right there in the name. I'm demotivated by deadlines I cannot comfortably meet and other dictates passed down from above.

While the essay offers an interesting perspective on motivation and corporate culture, I disagree with some of its conclusions. The emphasis on middle managers as the key to resolving the current motivational crisis in the workplace seems overly simplistic. Middle managers indeed play a crucial role in team dynamics and motivation, but the issues at hand are systemic and require a broader approach than simply relying on individual managers.

The disillusionment in corporate culture and the evolving nature of work – especially in the context of remote work – are not problems that can be solely addressed at the managerial level. These issues are deeply rooted in the very structure and philosophy of modern corporations. Factors like job security, work-life balance, and meaningful work are increasingly important to employees. These are not needs that middle managers alone can satisfy; they require fundamental changes in corporate strategies and policies.

Furthermore, the essay seems to downplay the importance of company culture in favor of individual management styles. However, culture and management are not mutually exclusive. A strong, positive corporate culture can significantly enhance the effectiveness of good managers and can help align individual and organizational goals.

I actually think this is more of an aspirational view. Most power has been stripped from middle managers. They aren't making RTO decisions, they're enforcing them. They often aren't making autonomous promotion, pay increase, bonus determinations, they're delivering them. I could go on and one. Middle managers most often are not middle managers, they're hard conversation havers for weak executives pulling strings.

The problem is that once upon a time, someone wrote a management book that said that setting deadlines can push people to work harder — and to an extent that's true — but if you take that idea to the extreme and every week is an important deadline, eventually the magic runs out and you end up just burning everyone out. Good managers know this of course, and work hard to find some kind of a balance between their team, higher management, external parties etc. Bad managers operate on auto and do whatever is currently en vogue.

Maybe the parent post is exaggerating a bit, but I think that at least it is fair to say that most good programmers began programming just for fun. And when managed well and presented with interesting problems, they will become highly productive and self-driven.

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