I’ve worked as a consultant with small and large organizations for most of my career, and I’ve seen this exact situation play out more times than I can count.

If I could go back, I’d tell my younger self not to stick around under bad leadership or in an unhealthy environment. It’s rarely worth it. Even if you care deeply about the mission, a toxic manager will slowly drain your motivation and confidence. I stayed in a few of those situations too long, thinking I had to tough it out. I didn’t, and neither do you.

The projects I’m most proud of were with teams I genuinely enjoyed working and growing with. That’s not a coincidence.

Start quietly looking. The right environment can bring out the best in you in ways this one won’t.

I really hope it works out for you.

> Micromanagement, lack of vision, poor communication, poor planning, zero support, full package.

This isn't going to get any better. More likely it will get worse over time as your new manager is under more stress to deliver on promises made, without the requisite planning and/or consultation with their team needed.

> About half the team share similar view. The other half seems like just playing along.

Experience suggests the latter group shares the same view as the former, but have other priorities (family, stock options, retirement, etc.) outweighing sharing them. This is not a judgement nor a bad thing. It just is.

> I still care about the mission and about what I do. Though not as much as before this all happened.

This is an inevitable transition resulting from this scenario. A cheeky phrase for this is "beating the care out of you."

> What would you do in my shoes to make the best of the situation?

Make as few waves as possible; do what you are assigned to do ethically.

Take your time to identify an ideal opportunity in another company.

Say nothing of the job search.

Only move on to another gig if you have an employment agreement in place.

Practically, plan your exit. Build your network within the org and outside of it. Keep up with those coffee chats and casual zoom meetups. Remain friendly to others in the org. Cultivate a skill or expertise outside of your current role that could be a stepping stone out of the org. Remain ultra professional at all times eg never badmouth the boss (but dont offer false praise either).

If you have the mental energy, you might also try this, but be warned it can be very difficult: try to understand why your manager is how they are. Every villain is the hero in their own story. They believe that they have to act in a certain way. It's possible that they are irredeemable little martinets, but far more likely that they are inexperienced and flailing around, grabbing onto markers of authority to give themselves a sense of control instead of facing their fears. If you want an intellectual project and iff you can disassociate yourself from the impact, you might try figuring it out and using the knowledge to form a relationship grounded in a better sense of reality.

- If your employer is doing well, it is better to stay longer and get promoted from within. (Based on "Relatively good one" I'll assume this is the case.)

- If your employer reorganizes frequently, is supports the "Stick it out case."

- If your employer encourages people to find their own new jobs within the company, that is usually the best route. (This isn't always the situation. In many companies you need your current boss's blessing) Based on your explanation it seems like this isn't the case.

- If you are learning a lot, add that to the case to stay.

- If your new manager has ethical issues (as opposed to just competence issues) start your search right now. Not 30 minutes from now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now.

- Same if you're put on any kind of performance improvement plan (PIP). Don't think "I'm competent, I can work my way out of it". PIPs are paper trails to keep them from getting sued. Consider the duration of the PIP to be your severance.

- As you've figured out, it's rarely a good idea to go over your manager's head unless you have an outstanding relationship with the CEO or similar who would ask you later "Why didn't you come to me first?"

- If you have to leave, find a new job first. Then be professional on the way out, and don't throw your manager under the bus. Just say, "I really enjoyed working for you, a dream opportunity came up." You never know when they'll be asked for a back-door reference check on you.

- Similarly, don't badmouth your boss when you interview. (You don't want to seem like someone easily discontented.) You can say "It's now or never to leave, and I think your company has a much better future. I'd rather invest in my career there."

Good luck navigating this!

Or you can find a new employer.

Or you can try to outlast your manager.

Over 25 years at my Megacorp I’ve outlasted many many useless first levels, and only found the need to change teams once.

I am currently in a situation where my useless first level got promoted and is now my skip, and he has hired TWO equally useless new K levels to replace him. We call them “The Orange Cats” as they collectively share one brain cell and no one is ever sure who possesses it on a given day.

Also, this is a tricky job market. I ran into a similar situation years ago, tried to fix it, and ended up just switching companies since it was a smaller outfit and I fell out of love with the project.

I think the safest thing for you to do, is to try and secure a transfer, or if you have to, a new job outside the company. This took me months, it might take some time. So be ready to knuckle down if you gotta.

On your way out, tell your skip what's going on, and how much you like the project and the mission. Maybe, just maybe, they'll fix the management problem and invite you back.

Either tough it out until the next reorg and hope for the best, or start working on your resume :(

The CEO is pleasant but incompetent, if he gets involved with a project directly, he'll make it worse not better.

For me, it's a balance, if I'm still reasonably happy going into work, I'll stick with it. When it starts to change that I semi-dread it, it's time to go.

Right now, I'm casually looking for other jobs, not committed to leaving, but seeing what my options are. It's a shame because I like my manager, and I like my colleagues, if only the CEO would just stay out of the day to day stuff.

Stop caring. You can contribute even more somewhere else later. Do your job, exactly 8 hours, focus on work-life balance, but leave quietly and professionally.

I managed to get onto another team by making connections internally. I think showing initiative, interest, and promise to another tech lead or manager in their area could go a long way.

That being said, even after switching teams I eventually left for another job and took a big pay cut for it, but was totally worth it for my sanity.

Most of the time managers aren’t bad, they just aren’t partially good. They want you to jump up or down in a particular way.

Whatever, as long as you don’t mess with my money I’ll do what you want. The rare truly shit bosses I’ve had would lie to me about my own pay. In one exceptional case they decided to not pay me until 60 days after I started. This wasn’t communicated until after I worked there for a month.

Another instance I won’t talk about.

Then again, I did quit 2 jobs just because my manager was an idiot. If I find a better job anyway why not. Life is too short to deal with stupid people

If you can’t leave try going above and beyond so you’re noticed by another manager with more clout.

This is the only way if you want to stay.

Most people won’t tolerate it and will leave. Watch for turnover.

My advice: Leave. Nothing will give you your physical and mental health back. You absorb their stress and it goes right into your body. Do you really want to put up with that in the foreseeable future? You will never get your health back.

Plus, you’ll gain wider experience that will make you more valuable in the future.

What tends to happen normally is you either work twice as hard to do the job as you want to do it AND meet your manager's random demands, or you feel like shit for not meeting your manager's demands, or you eat shit because of how they are feeling that day or whatever other nonsense a bad manager may dump on you.

As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said: "No one can make you feel bad without your permission." So the first step is to put on some thick skin.

And I am talking about a bad manager kind of like how people talk about handling a bully. Because, without much context, I know that they have power over you and that you fundamentally disagree with then. So don't try to change them and don't change yourself.

This is the only sane way to move forward without burning out quickly or feeling like shit all the time. Best of luck.

The “other half” is culturally fit for a large company.

I still care about the mission

Missions require full commitment.

Then by the will of higher ups some teams got drastically reorged and I ended up in a different team with a new manager.

That’s the nature of change.

Good luck.

I’ve been a manager myself. Some people think I was great at it and the best manager they ever had. Others probably didn’t think highly of me. You can’t please everyone.

If you feel comfortable with this person and have good reason to believe they can take feedback: give it. You’re probably not without leverage as long as you’re known to do good work. If they’re a manager worth half their salt they will support you. Be constructive and assertive with your feedback. Let them know what behaviours are causing problems for you and what you need to change. You might be surprised by the exchange. These things can have positive outcomes.

If you don’t feel comfortable with giving feedback to this person then start a folder with their name. Screenshot every important conversation. If they have specific demands of you try and get them in writing and document what you agree to. Be petty. Out manager them. Then you can go to your skip manager and you can point out the behaviours and provide evidence for their impact on your productivity/career progression/etc.

It doesn’t help everyone in all situations but keeping a folder of letters to this person that you will never send can help blow off some steam. It might also help, in the long run, to read over them. Sometimes relationships change for the better and you might not be so angry about things that happened today as you were back then. Emotional regulation and maturity are useful tools. Don’t let them get you angry. Hopefully this folder gets fewer entries over time.

Lastly if there is no hope then what you do next might depend on your personal situation.

If you’re young and have no dependents, mortgage, etc then it’s a lot easier to find a new gig and quit ASAP. If you have the financial runway quit right away. The next gig might be 100x better but you’ll never know if you don’t take the leap.

If you’re not young or have other reasons that require you to have a stable income then you need to hunker down. Compartmentalize: leave your job at the office. Don’t go to happy hours, don’t volunteer extra work, etc. You’re there to fulfill your contractual obligations for money and benefits because people depend on you. It really helps to have a reason outside of work to keep going: friends, family, a hobby, aspirations to start your own business some day, etc. Write down that goal, the plan, etc and remind yourself of it every day. Then show up and do exactly what it required of you to the best of your abilities.

Go Star Trek with it. Offer your suggestions when asked but row with the team when your manager chooses the direction. Bad idea and they ignore your advice? It’s their bed to lie in. You’re here for the money not to feel good or have your way. You go in the direction you’re asked to go. You’re in this with the team. That’s it.

Worst case scenario: you’re burning out, being abused, don’t feel safe or threatened: get support and get out.

Also might help to get a career coach/therapist. Someone you can sound off with.

The effects of bad managers take way to long for any accountability to take place. There's to much lag between cause and effect with managers and there isn't direct impact except towards their employees.

Micromanagers are impulsive, have a short attention span and tend to get their story wrong.

Keeping records offers some protection against accusations behavior from those people.

Ask for complete requirements, estimates that are as refined as possible and don't go on record agreeing to unrealistic timelines.

Do not confront your manager no matter how much provocation is involved.

A lot of this stuff gets caught by those processes

I would also add, look out for yourself. No one is going to look out for you - and be careful who you talk to.

Communication is key. I have communicated "feelings" in various ways and gestures. Micromanagement? Respond with sarcastic comment "wow so specific, good thing I left my brain at home today". Lack of vision? Respond with "after a few runs in circles trying to find our way, we will eventually get there ... eventually".

Next, master a little bit of psych. "other half seems like playing along" tells me they are fawning while the first half are either freeze, fight, or flight but mostly freeze response also known as deer-headlight response. This person might have insecurity issues. This person might be distracted with grandeur of rank. The best way to work with them is come up with a few praises to keep them calm (like how Trump's people keep him calm).

Third, let go of your ideas and ambitions and "leave your brain at home". This manager might be dimwitted but eventually the person will get smarter and you will get a first row seat to this adventure.

Fourth, find power plays to make this person behave better.

Five, and this is the most important ... be LOYAL and let this person know you have their back. Let them know that each personal advantage of yours will be used to support the team. When you see something wrong, whisper to them and let them know.

But if this person is family, and/or this person takes advantage of you, then none of my tips work because it only works on people who want to maintain their reputation. The person I work with wants to impress me and gets anxiety attacks when I know the person lacks a few skills.

The 80% of bad managers thrive in the ambiguity of their performance. They want to touch processes, and projects, and meetings and schedules, and things, to get their fingerprints on as much stuff as possible, without making a change substantive enough that it could make things noticeably worse. That way they can say they had an effect, but without the risk of a change that could backfire.

If you and a bunch of coworkers politely ask to transfer teams (not all at once), but spread out over a few weeks. Management will usually scramble to figure out which of their changes was actually impactful in the wrong way. Your boss doesn't know what he's doing, upper management doesn't either. They just want the big salary, and the diffuse responsibility.

Put yourself in their shoes: You're in charge of a team, you can't even really tell how it's going because it's just beyond your skillset, and now there are a bunch of people who don't like working on the team. Or the guy above him: You moved things around, and now it turns out one of your managers totally dropped the ball on the new team, and now you have to do extra work to retain and move people. Contact with reality is brutal.