[munchbunny]

I think there's something about programming day to day that actually makes it harder to manage. I used to be a PM and a people manager, IC engineer now, and I've found that my ability to convey concepts clearly has degraded because I spend a lot of time in the weeds. I have to purposefully step back to think about framing because I don't automatically have to do it.

I am an introvert, and dealing with people (as a manager) was mostly neutral, not really draining or energizing. That part wasn't a big deal and I enjoyed it enough. The draining part is when you have to make tough calls, when you have to tell people things they don't want to hear, or when you have to handle HR issues. That part is draining, but I'm pretty sure extroverted managers find that draining too.

I don't doubt that extroversion helps, but I certainly don't think introversion is an actual stopper.