I worked for a team that had 2 managers in my time there. They were polar opposites. For reference, the type of work we did was REALLY boring.
Manager #1:
• Positive, upbeat, fun to be around. She always encouraged us to loosen up and have fun at work
• She always had a full plate but offered to help us out if we needed it. If we were swamped she allowed us to move deadlines around because quality was more important than rushing to hit a deadline
• During Covid she'd schedule wellness check-in meetings with the team, as well as one-on-one, to see how we were doing and if there was anything she could do to help
• We also worked harder than usual during Covid, and she frequently paid for gift cards or gifts out of her own pocket to thank us. It wasn't much, but it meant a lot
• Always approved PTO, never needed an explanation
• Encouraged us to take a full hour for lunch because a recharged employee is a happy and productive employee
• As a result we worked harder and kicked ass
• Of course she was really good at her job. So good, in fact, she was poached by a company offering way more money
• I was legitimately bummed, because her second-in-command would be promoted to take her spot, and I knew it wouldn't be the same
Manager #2:
• Put in this position of power not because of merit, but because she was just next in line. Extreme Debbie Downer, always looked like she was about to cry
• She had none of the charisma of her predecessor, meetings were like watching paint dry (And she scheduled A LOT of them)
• When we worked remotely, she frequently asked us to share our screens so she could “work over our shoulders” and tell us how to do our jobs (Even though she had no idea what we really did)
• She pushed for us to go back to the office in the midst of Covid. Even though she was a department manager, she still had that middle management mentality
• Once we got back to the office we couldn't interact with anyone directly in person. All meetings were done via Zoom, even if everyone was in the office at the same time
• Cut lunch time to a half hour – We had to eat at our desks, we couldn't use the break room (And it was too short a time period to be able to drive to any lunch spots in the area)
• Horrible time management, had no idea what she wanted. My team would frequently work on projects to the point of near-completion, only for her to realize it's not what she wanted and then scrap them
• I had to fight for over a month to get 2 days off to take a small vacation. Right before my extended weekend break she tried to get me to cancel because her poor time management on a project lead to an emergency that she'd need me to fix
• Morale was at an all-time low, and I didn't have the motivation to go above and beyond like I did with manager #1. In fact, having her as manager made me realize how boring and horrible our company was
• She had no idea what to do with me, so eventually I was let go. In my exit interview, she actually said that part of the reason I was being let go was for not cancelling my weekend trip when “You knew we had a deadline to hit” (The project was basically done before she changed her mind and scrapped it long after my PTO was approved)
• Staff kept leaving or being fired. Last I saw of her was her LinkedIn profile – She was fired about 6 months after letting me go
tl;dr: A good manager will elevate the most boring of work. A bad manager can make the best work suck.