>One of the great ironies of software development as a line of work is that the skills to be a good developer and the skills to be a good manager are so different. Yet what do corporate IT departments often do with the developers in their shop who excel? "Promote" them to manager! It would almost be funny if so many people didn't wind up reporting to managers who are in jobs they are unsuited for.
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>That happened to me personally, actually. I got a series of promotions and was a VP before finally realizing how little I enjoyed it and that I was a much better developer than manager. In terms of peace of mind I have never regretted returning to the dark side ;-)
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>Some good techies do turn out to be good managers. But they are in the minority IMO. Completely different skill set.

That tech vs. management issue has been around for decades, in science, engineering etc. long before software was a twinkle in Alan Turing's eye.

The skill sets are different, so to get a techie who's a good manager, they have to have 2 skill sets, rather than just one or the other. A lot of people would say management is both nature and nurture. Probably, truly great managers are born, but I think adequate-to-decent skills can be taught. Give techies a decent evaluation or assessment, plus adequate training, before "promotion" to management ;-)