Wow!! You must really have had some poor managers. Our IT team just lost our manager due to company layoffs. They wanted to keep the people who "actually do the work". Upper management obviously did not have a clue as to what this lady actually did for this department and the company as a whole. She always sang our praises to her bosses, apparently to her own detriment. Lucky for them we are all professionals who know our jobs. However, we are all actively looking for other employment now. A good manager is like gold and many times the people making decisions at the top are too stupid to realize the benefits they bring to the company.