@lwriemen It will vary based on what "output" means for a team (engineering vs. sales vs. customer support vs. marketing vs. all the other teams in an org), but a team's manager is best positioned to know and *should* know what their team's output is. Then they can figure out what they need to do to measure that output.
@lwriemen Or just a poor/inexperienced manager. Many people get thrust into management positions from individual contributor roles with no training or mentorship and may not know what's involved in effective management. I only know because I have worked under and learned from some great managers over the years.
@kyle "but a team's manager" in a functional company "*should* know what their team's output is", but you are talking to "butts-in-seats" managers which implies a dysfunctional company.