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It's not just cynical (and jaded). It's condescending. I mean, in one sentence the author writes: > Well, that and Kevin needs to learn how to code, so he can

It's not just cynical (and jaded). It's condescending. I mean, in one sentence the author writes: > Well, that and Kevin needs to learn how to code, so he can then learn just how ignorant “Stop putting bugs in the code” really sounds to a development team. And in another it's: > Detailed tellers are so happy that they finally have the power to get everyone to write code “the correct” way. Tellers are especially bad if they have lots of energy and vigor as you can’t just wait for them to go away. This manager type is probably single-handedly responsible for causing software engineers to be reticent about working for a manager with technical chops. So the manager is clueless if he or she can't code, but also clueless if he or she can and crosses the author's undefined boundary for too much direction and detail. The message: the author (and her prototypical developer) know it all. Everyone else probably sucks, probably beyond repair. Yes, bad managers do exist. Exceptional ones are not super common. But the same could be said of developers and I'd say that based on the following, the author exhibits a toxic attitude that every team should look to avoid. > So, as a developer, what can you do? > Not much, unless you have a good shot at getting the manager removed without hurting your career. You might be tempted to somehow educate your manager, and if the skill gaps are pretty small, and the trust level is high, the managing-up school of management can be effective. However, most development manager skills gaps are on the scale of the Grand Canyon.

plutonorm 5y ago
It should be condescending to these bad managers. I've only ever had one technical manager and he was by far the best manager I ever had. People who cant code shouldn't be managing development teams and I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but it's the truth from where I stand. I'd even go so far as to say you are far better off with a technical product owner than a non technical one.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  The impression from reading the post is that just about every manager is bad. The ones who can't code. The ones who can. The author, on the other hand, knows it all, has nothing to learn, and can do no wrong. As someone who started as an engineer, moved up to management and then started my own companies, I've seen first hand that very few things hurt an organization more than employees who think they know it all and that everyone else is a problem that can't be fixed. You can (usually) fix bad code. You can almost never fix a toxic attitude. This post contains way too many of the toxic attitude red flags.

plutonorm 5y ago

It should be condescending to these bad managers. I've only ever had one technical manager and he was by far the best manager I ever had. People who cant code shouldn't be managing development teams and I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but it's the truth from where I stand. I'd even go so far as to say you are far better off with a technical product owner than a non technical one.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago
The impression from reading the post is that just about every manager is bad. The ones who can't code. The ones who can. The author, on the other hand, knows it all, has nothing to learn, and can do no wrong. As someone who started as an engineer, moved up to management and then started my own companies, I've seen first hand that very few things hurt an organization more than employees who think they know it all and that everyone else is a problem that can't be fixed. You can (usually) fix bad code. You can almost never fix a toxic attitude. This post contains way too many of the toxic attitude red flags.