Can a Manager Be a Techie and Survive?

theodp writes "Some say that good managers should not be technical at all. Over at Computerworld, 'C.J. Kelly' takes a contrarian position, arguing that managers should keep their hands on the technology. The ability to tell the difference between fiction and reality, says Kelly, is priceless." From the article: "If you don't know the difference between fiction and reality, you've got a problem. By being technically informed while managing people and projects, no one can blow smoke up my skirt. I can tell the difference between a lame excuse for a delay and a legitimate reason why something can't be done." Where do you fall on this issue? Is it nice to be able to flim-flam the boss once in a while? Or is the valuable input of a boss with a technical background worth the occasional all-nighter?

One example

[laing]

I remember hearing this story from some senior engineers I worked with about 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure that it's true.

They were all working hard down at Cape Canaveral getting ready to launch a satellite (an old HS-376). The boss came by and asked how things were going and one of the guys said that they were stuck on a problem and needed some parts. The boss eagerly got involved because this was something that he knew he could handle. They sent him to Radio Shack (Titusville) and had him ask for some polarized resistors. He took it in stride and did not get too upset when he came back (red faced) without them. It must have been very humbling for him.

JSL

Re:One example

[Anonymous Coward]

That's dangerous as hell. If you sent someone to Radio Shack for a polarized resistor today, he'd come back with a cell-phone charger and insist that you install it in your satellite.

Re:unavailable

[ScrewMaster]

You've heard the expression about people "being promoted to the level of their own incompetence"?

Yes indeed, "The Peter Principle", from Dr. Laurence J. Peter's 1968 book of the same name. Technically, this has nothing to do with some managers being dicks but in practice it does seem that way.

Re:Who says that?

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you know if your staff is any more technically proficient than you are?

They're all Microsoft Certified Professionals?

Re:Obviously, Yes!

[sphealey]

=== mean, come on! How much easier the lives of techies would be if their boss was one of them, if he would actually understand? ===

A little bit of a problem there: the microsecond the boss lifts his hand to actually perform any technical task, the rest of the management team classifies him with the toilet-cleaner and never listens to him seriously again. There might be a few hyper-technical organizations where this isn't strictly true, but it is a fact for 95% of the employers out there.

sPh

Re:It depends on your perspective

[ray-auch]

Say what ? You hire techies who have girlfriends ?

Why ? Why take the productivity hit when there's such a massive pool of talented geek labour* that is never going to have this problem ?

*large parts of it reading right here...

Reminds me of the Signal Corps prank

[Anonymous Coward]

from back in the days of vacuum tubes, when the new guy would be sent to Supply with orders to pick up a Fallopian tube.

Re:Who says that?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're anything like my boss then you take the side of which ever company's sales team has paid for the most expensive lunch and totally ignore your technically savvy staff.

There is such a thing as a free lunch if you work for the government of your neighboring state.

Re:It depends on your perspective

[ray-auch]

No no no, _married_ is the best of all worlds.

Not only are they (for the most part) not going out looking for it, but the fact that the other half _is_ local (and waiting for them at home) actually seems to make them more likely to want to pull all-nighters.

[ me, cynical, nah ! :-) ]

Re: a Tech Mgr or Mgr of Tech??

[DoofusOfDeath]

I came out of business school from marketing (though most of my best marketing knowledge I learned through books), but also am a programmer (wrote most of our original code), graphic designer (owned a design co) and was CTO for another Internet company.

Hey, is that you Ted? You're back!!! http://dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert- 20061113.html [dilbert.com]