How do non-technical people become managers of engineers in the first place?
It seems like something we should try to avoid.
It seems like something we should try to avoid.
He was able to guide me back on track when I was veering too far into the 'interesting problem for the programmer, but not what the business is trying to solve' territory and also was able to clear obstacles out of the way to let me work on what it was I needed to be working on.
Now I'm sure maybe there are technical managers who can do this well too, but it's not an exclusive trait to them and my point (and experience) is simply that being non-technical is not in and of itself a disqualifying factor for being able to manage technical people.
A Lead is someone you look up to for programming advice. A Lead is someone you know will guide you in building the right architecture.
A Manager is there to help you grow in other ways. A Manager sets you up for success and ensures you have all the tools you need to be successful.
Granted, often you'll find that your manager is the team lead and fulfills both of these roles at once. However I think they can be two separate roles.