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I'm curious about a related question: Does a manager need to be the best coder on the team? How much does it help/hurt if they're not?

by yllus 6y ago

qvrjuec 6y ago
Definitely not. The manager should be proficient enough to manage, but their main responsibility isn't to code, it's to... manage.
JadeNB 6y ago
If the manager is the best coder, then they'll be tempted to—and arguably they should—code, not manage.
devalgo 6y ago
I would say absolutely not. The habit of promoting competent technical people into management makes no sense to me, there is no reason to think a good coder would make a good manager. In fact it's probably the opposite case and the 10x type coders are probably a bit spectrum-y and would have real challenges managing people.
lanecwagner 6y ago
No, but IMO they should be one of the more technically competent people. Managing is not a full-time job, at least for a good manager its not a full time job.
- abakker 6y ago
  Potentially, managing isn't a full-time-job, full-time. There are management moments that can easily consume you for weeks/months, and if the manager should have been coding also, then the timeline is ruined. If the manager has slack, then the team can add staff as needed. Having a manager who is flat-out is bad - it slows decisions, introduces blocking functions everywhere, and ultimately makes things worse.
- managementthrow 6y ago
  I think you're underestimating how much work there is at the management level, especially in larger organizations. When management is doing their job, it won't be visible to you or your team. Things will just "align", and work well - but if things are moving smoothly in an organization with multiple teams, your management is working well. There is a lot of systems thinking required in managing team structures, interfaces between those teams, managing communication between teams, hiring, setting technology standards & architecture, and so on (review the rest of this thread). I do agree with your thesis though - a manager should be highly technical. I just don't think you can depend on their contribution to features & deliverables. Not because the work is "below" them, but because Engineering Management is a support role and should NOT need to choose between an IC-type task and helping unblock/support a member of their team due to a deadline :)

I'm curious about a related question: Does a manager need to be the best coder on the team? How much does it help/hurt if they're not?

by yllus 6y ago

I'm curious about a related question: Does a manager need to be the best coder on the team? How much does it help/hurt if they're not?

qvrjuec 6y ago

Definitely not. The manager should be proficient enough to manage, but their main responsibility isn't to code, it's to... manage.

JadeNB 6y ago

If the manager is the best coder, then they'll be tempted to—and arguably they should—code, not manage.

devalgo 6y ago

I would say absolutely not. The habit of promoting competent technical people into management makes no sense to me, there is no reason to think a good coder would make a good manager. In fact it's probably the opposite case and the 10x type coders are probably a bit spectrum-y and would have real challenges managing people.

lanecwagner 6y ago

No, but IMO they should be one of the more technically competent people. Managing is not a full-time job, at least for a good manager its not a full time job.

abakker 6y ago
Potentially, managing isn't a full-time-job, full-time. There are management moments that can easily consume you for weeks/months, and if the manager should have been coding also, then the timeline is ruined. If the manager has slack, then the team can add staff as needed. Having a manager who is flat-out is bad - it slows decisions, introduces blocking functions everywhere, and ultimately makes things worse.
managementthrow 6y ago
I think you're underestimating how much work there is at the management level, especially in larger organizations. When management is doing their job, it won't be visible to you or your team. Things will just "align", and work well - but if things are moving smoothly in an organization with multiple teams, your management is working well. There is a lot of systems thinking required in managing team structures, interfaces between those teams, managing communication between teams, hiring, setting technology standards & architecture, and so on (review the rest of this thread). I do agree with your thesis though - a manager should be highly technical. I just don't think you can depend on their contribution to features & deliverables. Not because the work is "below" them, but because Engineering Management is a support role and should NOT need to choose between an IC-type task and helping unblock/support a member of their team due to a deadline :)