Technically proficient/above average, yes. But the technically excellent ones should be the ones doing the coding, not wasting time on management duties.
Management has a different skill-set requirement, but they need to be able to identify good work from average/bad.
Spot on. I am a VP of Tech. I coded for 20 years but haven't put any code into production for at least the last 10. The skills required to code do NOT translate upward. Only a select few have both technical and managerial skills to succeed in upper management roles, and it is exceptionally difficult to do both effectively at the same time. Developers must focus on details while managers must focus on big picture. Having said that, a manager needs to understand the fundamentals of their team at minimum, so that they can guide and direct, but also to your point, identify when they are being BS'd by the techies.
This dynamic of course differs based on the size and type of company. Highly-technical managers tend to succeed better in flatter, more entrepreneurial companies. If there's hierarchy and scale though, a manager must focus on the political and financial aspects of the role at the expense of the technical.
I kind of disagree with Elon on this one.
Technically proficient/above average, yes. But the technically excellent ones should be the ones doing the coding, not wasting time on management duties.
Management has a different skill-set requirement, but they need to be able to identify good work from average/bad.
But who am I to argue with Elon on this?
Spot on. I am a VP of Tech. I coded for 20 years but haven't put any code into production for at least the last 10. The skills required to code do NOT translate upward. Only a select few have both technical and managerial skills to succeed in upper management roles, and it is exceptionally difficult to do both effectively at the same time. Developers must focus on details while managers must focus on big picture. Having said that, a manager needs to understand the fundamentals of their team at minimum, so that they can guide and direct, but also to your point, identify when they are being BS'd by the techies.
This dynamic of course differs based on the size and type of company. Highly-technical managers tend to succeed better in flatter, more entrepreneurial companies. If there's hierarchy and scale though, a manager must focus on the political and financial aspects of the role at the expense of the technical.
No one size fits all.