There are of course bad and average eng managers who have skills that are subpar. Let's keep them out of this discussion - they should be fired.
But the majority of eng managers who have the chops probably can't be in the weeds (even if they'd like to) because their plate is full of other nonsensical shit. Meetings, reviews, more meetings, planning, more meetings, and so on that effectively fills up the productive and creative part of the brain and day. At the end you're left with very little brain space to dig into, understand, and guide complex technical decisions.
No one needs to cry a tear for them or empathize but I suspect that's the reality.
There are of course bad and average eng managers who have skills that are subpar. Let's keep them out of this discussion - they should be fired.
But the majority of eng managers who have the chops probably can't be in the weeds (even if they'd like to) because their plate is full of other nonsensical shit. Meetings, reviews, more meetings, planning, more meetings, and so on that effectively fills up the productive and creative part of the brain and day. At the end you're left with very little brain space to dig into, understand, and guide complex technical decisions.
No one needs to cry a tear for them or empathize but I suspect that's the reality.