Full-time Management is overkill

It's a known principle: constraints force creativity. When I have only one hour to finish a presentation, I set clear limits. I won't waste a quarter of that time on finding the perfect font; that would be a poor use of my time. My priority is to get the core message onto the slides. Then, I'll make the most critical tweaks and nothing more.

On the flip side, give me ten hours for the same presentation, and I will spend all ten hours on it.

Will the 10-hour presentation be better? Perhaps slightly.
Will it be more beautiful? Likely.
But will it be ten times more effective? Almost never.

The return on investment diminishes rapidly after the core work is done.

This isn't to say a presentation should never take ten hours. I have spent that much, and more, on critical presentations. The point is this: humans are wired to use all available resources, even when the situation doesn't justify it. Our brains are programmed to fill the time and resources we're given.

This same principle applies to management, with significant consequences for a company. As DHH has argued, full-time management roles are seldom required.

In my experience, this is unequivocally true. Full-time managers will find ways to manage for 40 hours a week, even when only 10 hours of meaningful management tasks exist. They will fill their schedule to justify their full-time role, because that is what they were hired to do.

These managers hover, invent non-urgent topics, and schedule useless meetings. They prevent other people from doing their real work.

The question becomes: what work do you give these managers when their essential tasks are done by Wednesday?

The answer is simple. If the managers are engineers, have them write code. If they are in sales, have them call prospects. In short: have them create customer value.

For anyone else, the principle is the same. Find a way to contribute directly, or question the need for the full-time role.