[adn37]

> pretend to add value by retweeting status from the people who really know what's going on?

They are communicating, while you are coding. This is of course unbalanced. But personally, the last thing I want to have to do is to update any random person on how things are going, while in the middle of a crunch towards the deadline. The dark side it that I have to deal with a PM who doesn't understand the deep technical aspects and is the 'key' player of the decision process.

> Shouldn't engineers with leadership gifts lead more projects where engineering plays a major role?

Some very talented soft engineers that I know are trying their best to stay away from project management. It's how things are.