Comment by dgb23 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by dgb23 | Hacker News Reader

> Having to constantly explain basic things gets tiring very quickly.

That's because they are a non-technical manager who doesn't trust you.

I think there are two archetypes that work on the technical vs non-technical dimension:

Good: Technical, but has actually done the work (or does it currently) and is able to. In software that means they can program, set stuff up, debug things. Will be more experienced and coach, or smoothly bridges the gap between social and technical challenges.

Bad: Technical, but only "high level" and can't do the nitty gritty work but will make bad technical decisions that pushes you into a corner. Will demand concrete technical solutions instead of stating goals.

Good: Non technical, but hands off and actually trusts experts. Knows people well and how to handle tricky situations. Keeps the BS away. Approaches projects with a calm, organized fashion. Tries to take good opportunities and doesn't cling to bad decisions.

Bad: Non technical, but will constantly demand explanations, 'sell' deadlines and deliverables before consulting workers. Demands specific solutions instead of stating problems clearly. Thinks primarily about cost and efficiency instead of value and growth.

This is a great answer. I've had one great technical manager, one great non-technical manager, and two average to below average non-technical managers. The difference between the non-technical vs the technical is very well described here. The technical was great as well because they were curious about what I was working on and my solutions in a genuine way, and took an active role in my development.

Some of the worst managers I've met are non-tech and trusting. A red flag is someone who says "my team can do whatever you ask them to do," before consulting the team.

We need to distinguish between being trusting versus naive then.

I'm reminded of the scene from Into the Spiderverse.

Doc Ock: If we fire again this week, we could rupture the space-time continuum.

Kingpin: You got 24 hours.

I'm not sure if naivety is the best word. It's more like laziness that translates into blind trust. The manager doesn't manage, they just push the problem to someone else.

I had a very VERY short lived manager at one point that immediately agreed to a request from another manager that violated the laws of physics and said we could do it (SLO including FTL latency multiregion cloud related).

Sometimes I still think about this.

"Bad: Technical" are basically managers with less than 3 yoe of experience as IC.

"Bad: Non technical" are basically micro-managers

Finding Good: Technical will always be easier to come by than Good: Non technical, since understanding what you are managing gives you a leg up.

Good: Non technical works if you already have a strong team of ICs. It will quickly fall apart if not.

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