At my last job (doing .NET Web Dev), I spent the first 2 years under a manager who knew absolutely nothing about programming or really anything technical for th

At my last job (doing .NET Web Dev), I spent the first 2 years under a manager who knew absolutely nothing about programming or really anything technical for that matter. He was, for all intents and purposes, originally hired as a henchman to weed out bad employees because the CEO hated being the bad guy. That made him the COO and as such, the head of IT as well because of how the company was strucuted (or not structured). The last 2 years saw me working under someone who had been programming for a living for many years. While he was, by his own words, a bit out of his prime and behind the times, the difference between working for the two was night and day. Deadlines became more attainable, requirements became more realisitic and when difficult decisions arose we had someone who could go to bat for the IT department as apposed to someone who always sided with the "sales" portion of the business. In my mind, anyone directly overseeing a developer should know how to program as well. In small organizations and start-ups, that's not always possible, but if you're somewhat established and you have an IT/IS director, manager, CIO or what have you that can't program a lick .... I think there's an issue there.