A good manager can turn a mediocre job into a great job. A bad manager can turn a great job into a terrible job. 

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to have a great manager, you know that they can make a mediocre workplace worth staying at. A manager who clearly communicates their expectations without micromanaging and who advocates for you when they know you deserve a raise is worth their weight in gold. 

A great manager is often a savior in the eyes of their direct reports, and a menace in the eyes of the higher-ups. That’s because they value their employees, even if it affects the bottom line, and refuse to see them as easily replaceable cogs in the machine. It’s tough to be stuck in the middle between making your employees happy and making higher-ups happy, and many managers have to choose one or the other to prioritize.