A reflection on the Manager Readme trend that peaked around 2018, arguing that the real value of writing one is self-reflection rather than sharing it with your team. The post weaves in fifteen personal behavioral tics — irrational reactions to interruptions, lateness, feedback, and disorder — to illustrate that every leader carries hidden, often unfair habits. The core message: competent leaders are aware of their tics and actively work to minimize their impact on others.
Questions this post answers
What was the Manager Readme trend and why did it fade?
Manager Readmes were documents where managers wrote up their leadership style, values, and principles. The trend started around 2017, peaked in 2018, and then faded. The core problem was that employees received them as mandates rather than reflections — good leaders lead by example, not by handing people a manifesto about how to deal with them. Engineering managers navigating leadership culture shifts find context like this on daily.dev.
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