[hibikir]

The issue is not really having a manager that is technical or not: I have met great managers that were not technical, and terrible ones that were technical.

Success comes from trusting your people, having a clear goal the team believes in, and a team of the right size to accomplish said goal. Every successful team I've been a part of had all three. When even one is missing, there is much dysfunction.

The agile rituals are there to try to make those things easier, but they are just a way in: If you meet the important principles, you do not need them. Just look at the Valve method: No management, no ritual, but a hiring process that attempts to just get the kind of people that focus on those principles like a laser.