I've personally seen horrific technical judgement calls made by managers who used to code (usually not in an environment like anything they're actually managing

I've personally seen horrific technical judgement calls made by managers who used to code (usually not in an environment like anything they're actually managing). There's a huge, dangerous class of problem where you think you know what you're doing, but you don't. "It's not what you don't know that hurts you. It's what you know that just ain't so." - Satchel Paige When the fates of a whole team of individuals rest on your judgement, it's best if it is grounded empirically or at least humble enough to account for the possibility that you could be mistaken.