The current trend of hiring non-tech managers to lead tech teams isn’t a novelty. For decades, companies and teams in different industries have been led by people who aren’t necessarily experts in those fields. But, is hiring managers with no tech background the best option for this industry?
We went through conversations among software engineers in public forums and debated this issue with multiple engineers — turns out, a non-tech manager might not be the best person to lead a tech team.
We’re bringing you key problems a non-tech manager can bring and what companies can do to solve them.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Without a tech background, managers can bring inefficiencies to problem-solving, providing clarifications, and setting deadlines and success metrics.
- Due to these inefficiencies, many tech employees could lose trust in non-tech managers and lack of confidence in managers’ abilities.
- Companies could train tech employees in people management instead.
Non-tech managers could bring inefficiency
CEO of Scalable Path, a software staffing agency, Damien Filiatrault, believes that non-tech managers’ “lack of fundamental understanding of technical principles could mean they don’t have the full context to make informed decisions, which can result in inefficient or delayed resolution of issues.”
For instance, he claims that when developers get stuck on projects with issues in optimizing a database query or integrating an API, “a non-tech manager may not fully understand the urgency or complexity of these issues, leaving developers unsupported. This can result in frustrations and a lack of confidence among the developers, eventually slowing down the project’s momentum.”
Non-tech managers may have trouble understanding metrics
Our contributor Adam Hamilton, CEO of REI Hub, explains that understanding how much time a task takes and creating success metrics are crucial parts of a manager’s job. He adds that, without extensive knowledge of what a specific task entails, it’s difficult for a non-tech manager to set the correct deadline or evaluate the quality of work:
“When you understand what [your team is] doing, you have a better grasp on how strenuous and time-consuming things are, as well as just how realistic the goals you are setting for your team are.”
Filiatrault adds that indicators a non-tech manager can assess (such as deadlines, expectations, generated ROI) overlook the “subtleties of technical success, including, but not limited to, the quality of coding, system architecture, and proper tech debt usage. This could potentially hinder the team’s ability to deliver sustainable, high-quality solutions.”
He highlights that technical managers are better at examining API response times, error rate reductions, and software performance benchmarks. Filiatrault believes tech managers “inherently understand the technical context behind metrics and can advocate for resolving foundational issues that might not show immediate results but are critical for future success.”
Non-tech managers might build trust harder
In an environment in which a manager has a limited understanding of the tech space and difficulties solving problems, employees might question the manager’s competencies, build frustration, and lose trust.
Filiatrault notes that a non-tech manager’s ability to optimize processes and encourage teamwork can create a more trustworthy working environment. But, their lack of technical knowledge could also undermine trust:
“Teams depend on leaders to fairly assess workloads, prioritize tasks effectively, and make decisions based on technical feasibility. Non-tech managers tend to have a somewhat myopic view of the work at hand, which can create tension within a team of developers as their understanding may be limited.”
After 14 years of experience in tech hiring, Filiatrault’s company now favors managers with tech backgrounds, as they’ve been proven to be a better choice:
“The technical background of tech managers allows them to formulate solutions to technical problems, supervise developers, and respond to issues that require decision-making quickly. Because [such managers] understand the nuances of the development phase, they are able to communicate better with the developers, thus fostering trust and making them more effective in leading the team.”
The bottom line: Opt for upskilling your tech employees
The emergence of non-tech managers raises the question — are tech employees’ administrative and soft skills that bad? Doesn’t it make more sense to upskill your tech employees to prepare them for managerial roles instead of hiring non-tech managers?
The lack of interest in managerial positions could be the issue, as CoderPad research shows that 36% of software developers worldwide aren’t interested in becoming managers. Still, this leaves the majority of tech workers who’d like to take on a people management role. Hiring an external non-tech supervisor instead of your employee who’s interested in management could negatively affect their job motivation and engagement. Discussing career goals with employees and preparing workers with potential and desire to advance could be a better option.
This brings us to another possible issue: the lack of training. A 2024 YouGov and Mindtools study found that 50% of workers didn’t receive support when promoted to managerial roles. Furthermore, 42% of those who received training were unsatisfied with its quality. The same study also claims that managers who received proper training are much better at:
- Setting goals,
- Providing guidance, and
- Building trust.
So, instead of giving up on tech employees because they lack managerial skills and preventing those who want to become managers from progressing by opting for an external hire, companies could train existing tech workers for these roles.
Non-tech managers spent years working on their skills, so why not give your employees the same chance? By upskilling employees who want to become managers, you’ll reduce the risk of non-tech people lowering the effectiveness and trust in the company.
If you’d like to know how and when to upskill (and reskill) your employees, check out our comprehensive reskilling guide.