Comment Re:Generalisation overload (Score 2) 211
Agreed with Sibling. If the manager doesn't grasp how it is that IT or programming teams should be run (or at least how they run best), and is unable to get up to speed, then it all goes to shit in no time... people skills be damned.
I've worked for an IT manager that knew approximately bupkis about tech. Her MBA was all the qualification you needed, according to her. She trusted you, and yes she could really wrestle money out of the CFO to get you what you really needed. The problem was that she had a solid-running clique going, where the suck-ups got ahead in spite of their skillset (or rather, lack thereof). I also discovered that she preferred buzzwords over explanation when it came to project reports and proposals.
The worst part was that many of the folks under her were flamingly incompetent at procurement... they would choose technologies based on the geek factor, and few would do any real negotiations or probing with the vendors (and said vendors knew full well that if, say, I didn't give them what they wanted, they could simply go to my non-tech boss, declare that I'm too hard to work with, and *poof* - they got what they wanted from her, usually to the detriment of the budget.)
So, no... having an MBA may make you a competent Sales/HR/Whatever manager, but when it comes to technical teams, it doesn't guarantee jack.