Shortest answer is they're put in charge by someone who doesn't know that the appointee doesn't know. Either they don't know they're supposed to know that, or (ime) more often they don't know how to judge. As someone else replied, passing leetcode-style tests is taken as a mark of technical skill well beyond what it's intended to indicate.
Glad to hear you've been part of well functioning competent teams of professionals. I know they exist - I've been there a couple times myself over the years, but it's not a given. I would probably say it's not even the norm if you include a wider range of places where tech/developer folks may be employed.
A 'team lead' role is filled by someone who is dating the department manager's family member? Seen that happen.
"Joe's been here longer, so he gets to make the final decision on things". OK, but Joe graduated high school last year, and he's cutting in to systems built by people with 20+ years of experience (both in software and in this domain), and Joe is replacing it with some cut/paste stuff he found on stackoverflow last week.
I was going to produce a larger litany of dumb scenarios I've had to wrestle with, in painful detail, but unsure that would do much to convince you of anything. (venting does help me occasionally, but won't ATM).
Glad to hear you've been part of well functioning competent teams of professionals. I know they exist - I've been there a couple times myself over the years, but it's not a given. I would probably say it's not even the norm if you include a wider range of places where tech/developer folks may be employed.
A 'team lead' role is filled by someone who is dating the department manager's family member? Seen that happen.
"Joe's been here longer, so he gets to make the final decision on things". OK, but Joe graduated high school last year, and he's cutting in to systems built by people with 20+ years of experience (both in software and in this domain), and Joe is replacing it with some cut/paste stuff he found on stackoverflow last week.
I was going to produce a larger litany of dumb scenarios I've had to wrestle with, in painful detail, but unsure that would do much to convince you of anything. (venting does help me occasionally, but won't ATM).