[gummadi]

>> she takes 30 lines to write what should be written in 15 or 20, she introduces bugs that QA has to spend their time on, and she doesn't really grasp the concept of writing code that performs well

>> she is a great communicator and is able to explain complex technical issues quite clearly to clients

I haven't yet met a developer/programmer who writes a code like the one described in the first statement being a great communicator as described in the second statement. Most of them who could articulate complex technical issues seem to be great programmers too. Any counter examples?

[duopixel]

I agree with you, but most of the time it's not the ability to explain technical issues what pulls these people ahead, it's the social skills that ease friction among coworkers and clients.

I used to work with someone who had this gift. If an unimportant feature was difficult to implement, instead explaining technical details and ROI, he'd somehow make the client talk himself into removing the feature.

Psychologists do something similar, they guide you into a train of thought hoping that you will arrive to some conclusion on your own. It completely undermines whatever defensive stance you had and all you need is some reassurance that it's the right decision.

[hasenj]

I think what actually happens is that her understanding of the technical issues is simple minded in the first place, and she explains it at a level that a layman can understand. Where as Rodrigo has a deep understanding of the issue, and he can't find a way to explain it without involving the listener in some technical details that they don't understand and don't care about.

[olliesaunders]

I’d posit: the amount of time you spend teaching and advising your coprogrammers increases with experience and competence so that you spend less and less time actually typing and more and more time talking.

This makes sense because you can amplify the benefit of a great programmers by having them influence the design decisions of lesser programmers who will also learn from the process.