Technical Engineering Managers

Management is where engineers stop growing. Managers aren't regularly cultivating new skills as engineers are.

A good manager does not always a good SWE make.

There are some great managers but they’re usually from a tech background and know not to micromanage. Non-tech managers are really glorified PMs.

IMHO, tech is a hostile environment with a lot of poor managers. I think the Peter principle applies to a lot of managers in tech. Promoted past their skill set. Just because someone is a good engineer does not mean they will be a good engineering manager. Managing humans with needs, concerns, ideals and life goals is so very different than managing a code-base. Executive leadership needs to consider this when building teams and figure out how to make and/or recruit good managers.

The goal post is not "good manager". It is just "better than non-technical managers"

It's not the engineers, it's the managers.

problem is that only a small percentage of good engineers make good managers. a few bad engineers also make good managers. it's extremely rare but a few non-engineers make ok managers. but almost all of the very worst managers have been non-technical (e.g. BMA).

Every software engineer needs to read this. Managing people is it’s own skill all its own. Programming skills don’t translate.Business folks: please create parallel technical and managerial career paths. This can go all the way to the CEO (CTO) level - great devs can be great devs, great people/business folks can be great at managing.I see it daily:if your manager is programming, he’s not managing. Of course there are exceptions, but as a rule, if you’re a senior dev, you’ve probably

As an engineer, all the good managers I've had have had their hands in the tech in the present or the past. Really confuses me why companies hire externally for managers working directly with engineering. Knowing the tech makes a huge difference in managing expectations.

It’s uncommon but not unrealistic. The old adage “surround yourself with people smarter than you” applies and is a mark of a good manager. Maybe it’s good if the manager is not a clueless MBA and has enough technical expertise to understand what the team is taking about. It should be a manager of manager’s job to identify and replace managers who don’t understand this.