Who's Better for Engineering Teams: Technical or Non-Technical Managers?

The Two Types of Engineering Team Managers

Engineering team managers can either have a technical background or a management background. A manager can work great for an engineering team regardless of their experience. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. The right manager can overcome these disadvantages.

Fiery debates flood the tech world (and their forums and meeting rooms) about whether a technical background determines a manager's success. Regardless of technical experience, a great manager acknowledges their shortcomings to unite their team.

The Technical Manager

Technical managers lead their teams with field experience and knowledge. They've worked on engineering teams before and know the ins-and-outs of technical processes. These managers have a built-in credibility with their engineers because of mutual credentials.

They may be staying up-to-date with technical advancements to be on-par with the engineers they lead. Technical managers share technical language with engineers, making for easy communication on project specifics. They understand realistic time frames around technical/coding deadlines. They've likely progressed into management due to a strong foundation in technical experience. Technical managers may have been former lead developers or senior software engineers.

Advantages of a Technical Manager

A technical manager may be preferred by engineering teams. A common ground of technical experience gives a technical manager authority on tech projects.

• Common language: A technical manager understands the language and complexities of tech. A shared language between manager and team can create efficiency.
• Technical decision-making: Technical managers are typically previous senior engineers and thus able to guide decisions in technical projects. Their extensive experience and up-to-date technical knowledge allows for strategy for success.

Cons of a Technical Manager

• Outdated experience: Some technical managers choose to be up-to-date on the latest technical knowledge, but no amount of studying can give them the same boost as fresh out-of-school engineers. Managers have to spend most of their time managing their teams and projects, so their technical knowledge may fall behind current trends.
• Leadership lack: Technical managers have spent more time in tech than management, so their leadership skills may need refinement. Their technical contributions may be strong but will not translate to managing people and navigating workplace politics.

The Non-Technical Manager

A non-technical manager has limited or no technical experience. They may have basic tech knowledge such as required technical coding rounds. However, they were never part of software teams long-term and instead have experience as project managers or administrators in different fields.

Instead of deep technical knowledge, they're armed with people and project management backgrounds. Non-technical managers come to the table knowing how to navigate corporate politics and stakeholder communications. They must trust their team to excel in their own skills, and that their team in turn trusts them to lead.

Advantages of a Non-Technical Manager

• Management focus: Non-technical managers focus on managing their team since they may not have a hand in technical contributions or decisions. This single-sighted aim lends priority to leadership matters, as well as correlating
• Business communication: Non-technical managers know what they don't know, so they can communicate to other non-technical beneficiaries in simplified ways that a technical person would otherwise have to break down. Non-technical managers may be better equipped at dealing with stakeholders and business partners without needing to complicate with technical details.

Cons of a Non-Technical Manager

• Lack of rapport: A non-technical manager may have a longer bridge to build trust with their technical team than a technical manager would. The gaps in their technical knowledge may cause engineers to disregard a non-technical manager's authority. They would need to build rapport and trust with their team in order to best work with them.
• Translation necessary: A non-technical manager's lack of technical knowledge necessitates translation from engineers. This is an extra step for a team that adds time and potential frustration.

How to Succeed as a Technical Team Manager - Regardless of Your Background

The timeless principles of good management can surpass technical experience. Both technical and non-technical managers can work in their strengths and acknowledge their weaknesses. The type of technical background a manager has does not have to define their success.

Here are the simple ways both types of managers can be great leaders:

• Know what you don't know: A humble leader earns the trust of their team and partners. Admitting what they don't know opens up discussions on how to harness the team in order to reach goals. Additionally, a lack of knowledge in certain aspects can create space for learning as well as opportunities for delegation.
• Utilize resources and team: Managers can make up for their weaknesses by delegating appropriately to the right resources and engineers. Assigning tasks such as translating difficult technical aspects for stakeholders to understand can give engineers opportunities for additional skills.

Regardless of technical experience, managers can still commit the sins of management and lose their team's trust:

• Micromanaging: Micromanagement reveals a manager's distrust in their team. Engineers can be reluctant to work their full potential with a manager breathing down their neck and critiquing every move. This can be seen in technical managers who nitpick technical details, or non-technical managers who doubt their engineers' knowledge.
• Communication breaks: Communication is the link that connects people to each other, and essential for teams to work towards shared goals. Poor communication by managers will lead to mistakes, misunderstandings, and inability to get things done in time. Broken down communication also includes a failure to listen to others.

Conclusion

Engineers and companies may have a preference to whether their managers have technical backgrounds. There may be no universal answer to which type of manager is best suited for technical teams, as each individual manager will have different strengths and faults.

A manager can rise above their shortcomings, whether that's in technical or management knowledge, by acknowledging them and focusing on their team's success over their egos.