[ebiester]

It all depends on how large the team is and the scope of responsibility. I see, in practice, three types of manager roles.

The first is the team lead manager. This team has 3-5 people on it, and the tech lead codes small features and pairs with other developers, and has a coaching role. Their people management skills are relatively low weight, and their managers, whether senior managers or directors, are doing the heavy lifting on how to manage career progression and run a department, but they will be intimately involved with the progression of the team's goals.

The second is the multi-team or large team manager. This manager has 6-15 reports and does not code or codes sparingly at best. However, they are responsible for low level strategy and tactics.

The third is the barely-technical people manager. This person has over 20 reports, and is in a reporting capacity and people managing capacity and the technical leads are delegated to handle strategic and tactical capacity. The manager is responsible for more holistic thinking and supporting the tech leads, Or the organization is light on career development.

I have seen all three happen. The key to understanding your responsibilities as a manager is to understand the organizational expectations. When you ask as a manager if you should code, the real question is what are you trading for that?

[kayodelycaon]

Agreed. I'm moving towards a team lead role at some point. I've volunteered in three positions in orgs outside of work. Team lead is about where my skills and interests end.