This resonates with me. I much prefer conversations over group meetings, and I would very much like to have more of those conversations instead of daily meetings.
However, I've suggested this to managers before and received forceful feedback that they "did not have time for that".
It was confusing - if you're a pure manager, what more valuable allocation of your time could there be than in talking directly to people?
"What more valuable allocation of your time could there be than in talking directly to people?"
Taking action, based on the what you've learned while talking directly to people.
A manager's output is the the output of the teams under his or her supervision or influence[1]. That means you have to find the highest-leverage activities: sometimes that's a one-on-one conversation, up, down or sideways. Sometimes it means sitting down and drafting an email or other written document that compiles all the little details you've learned into something meaningful and actionable for the people around you. Sometimes it's about being in front of a group and enabling a conversation that you're not directly at the center of, but which wouldn't happen well without you present.
Which isn't to say your manager at the time was right to dismiss your concerns, or was doing the most high-leverage things they could do. But the perspective might be useful.
[1] High Output Management, Andy Grove (former CEO of Intel). One of several great management books that help clarify "what management is and is not". And if you have never read anything in the genre, I'd start with Managing Humans, by Michael Lopp (randsinrepose.com). Life-changing for me when I was trying to figure out the same thing, before I started doing it myself.
> Taking action, based on the what you've learned while talking directly to people.
If you don't talk to people, then you're oblivious to which actions you actually need to take. You may then end up doing things that have neutral or even negative value.
I'm very skeptical of any manager who never does 1-1s with their direct reports. Such a person is probably more of a project manager than an actual people manager.
(I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding more perspective.)
However, I've suggested this to managers before and received forceful feedback that they "did not have time for that".
It was confusing - if you're a pure manager, what more valuable allocation of your time could there be than in talking directly to people?