[cauterized]

Not sure I agree about joining a dysfunctional company to that end - you're liable to either learn or be forced into terrible management habits.

That said, I couldn't agree more about communication. It's a crucial management skill and one that too few engineers develop properly (and I'm not even talking about socially awkward stereotypes). Communicating effectively with management is a very specific skill that's very different from general social communication; and communicating effectively with one's reports is yet another skillset.