These pieces stuck out to me:
Find out what the problem is, use your 1:1s to understand what makes people tick, and build a system that helps empower those who thrive with autonomy while simultaneously developing strategies to help those who are still struggling.
Don’t punish everybody because of the missteps of few.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a manager that really gave a fuck enough to “understand what makes people tick” much less build a system that helps empower them… and it makes sense- the mid-level SWE who’s been stuck at mid-level for 10 years got “promoted” to manager… and you think that sort of person is going to perform that job with distinction???