> Most PMs I've ever met had zero clue what they are doing. And no it's not only N=1 sample, same anecdote is heard from many, many other people.

Most people say that because they have no idea what a PM's job is and are upset that the PM isn't doing what they want.

Highly irrelevant. Not my role as an individual contributor to hone and fine-tune their job description.

Fact on the ground is that they usually optimize the entirely wrong indicators and never ever optimize for avoiding future problems.

In my consulting and contracting stints I made it a habit to write down what crisis is looming on the horizon and making bets with my wife which one is going to arrive first. A fun little game.

Watching train wrecks in slow motion stopped being fun with time.

What PM's job is is above my pay grade. I want them to enable me and the team, not be a mouth piece of people with zero understanding of product _and_ of engineering. They are just there to ask you how is stuff going.