alt Hacker NewsYou might be missing the value that a good middle manager brings to the table. Ensure the right people are working on the right things. In terms of project progress, in terms of personality fit, in terms of personal development, in terms of bus factor, etc. Ensure the right people are talking to each other, attend the meetings they should (and only those), have the right equipment, get their technical concerns heard. Shield their team from department politics or overburdening bureaucracy. And so much more. Those things are unlikely to be automatable with LLMs. Arguably harder so than writing code.
If you have only bad middle management around you then it might be time to either step up and do it better or find a different place to work, since there are places with excellent middle management.
I've seen good middle management at startups and small businesses where people grew with the company and the place was small enough that reputation and integrity mattered.
At FAANG, good middle managers are the exception, the promotion process incentivizes different behaviors. A manager taking care of their team or, worse, pushing back on their boss isn't playing the right game.