Let’s test this assertion. Does it hold in the extreme?
For instance, why then does the person that VP of Engineering reports to not need to be a qualified engineer? If this is the CEO then it’s clearly impossible for them to be qualified at all of the functions they are ultimately responsible for. If we accept that the CEO is essentially incompetent at their job the way it’s defined here, why are we unwilling to accept it one node down? Is the function of that node to somehow insert all the competence the node above them lacks? We will shortly see that this can’t possibly be the case.
Another example — suppose this person has held management positions for the last 15 years. In a large organization this is likely to be true. This person last coded before some of our most popular languages even existed, and in the Node case they have missed umpteen million iterations on what a good webdev stack looks like. They also have never done modern mobile development and probably couldn’t gradient descent themselves out of a paper bag. They wouldn’t get through a phone screen, so how are you so sure their technical skills matter?
Another issue: assuming they somehow find time to keep up to date on some aspect of software engineering, how likely is it that the one area where they are a qualified developer is the only thing they manage? Or is it more likely that they manage distributed systems engineers next to machine learning specialists next to security engineers next to site reliability, system engineers in test, and Bluetooth LE on Android specialists (that’s the reality where I work)? How can they possibly be an expert on all of this? Given that they lack true expertise, why would we value faux expertise?
My simplifying assumption is that skill at a job they do not do is actually close to meaningless and in fact what really matters is their ability to be effective at the thing they spend 10 hours a day on — communication, setting directions, intently listening, resolving conflicts, and integrating the demands of the business, customers, and the people that have entrusted them with a portion of their career.
> For instance, why then does the person that VP of Engineering reports to not need to be a qualified engineer?
Because that person isn't evaluating their direct reports on the basis of their engineering ability, or even their engineering leadership ability, but their management ability. Unlike the crummy boss in the parent comment.
For instance, why then does the person that VP of Engineering reports to not need to be a qualified engineer? If this is the CEO then it’s clearly impossible for them to be qualified at all of the functions they are ultimately responsible for. If we accept that the CEO is essentially incompetent at their job the way it’s defined here, why are we unwilling to accept it one node down? Is the function of that node to somehow insert all the competence the node above them lacks? We will shortly see that this can’t possibly be the case.
Another example — suppose this person has held management positions for the last 15 years. In a large organization this is likely to be true. This person last coded before some of our most popular languages even existed, and in the Node case they have missed umpteen million iterations on what a good webdev stack looks like. They also have never done modern mobile development and probably couldn’t gradient descent themselves out of a paper bag. They wouldn’t get through a phone screen, so how are you so sure their technical skills matter?
Another issue: assuming they somehow find time to keep up to date on some aspect of software engineering, how likely is it that the one area where they are a qualified developer is the only thing they manage? Or is it more likely that they manage distributed systems engineers next to machine learning specialists next to security engineers next to site reliability, system engineers in test, and Bluetooth LE on Android specialists (that’s the reality where I work)? How can they possibly be an expert on all of this? Given that they lack true expertise, why would we value faux expertise?
My simplifying assumption is that skill at a job they do not do is actually close to meaningless and in fact what really matters is their ability to be effective at the thing they spend 10 hours a day on — communication, setting directions, intently listening, resolving conflicts, and integrating the demands of the business, customers, and the people that have entrusted them with a portion of their career.