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Technical Managers

Here is an excellent post from Managing Software Development. The article does not distinguish between managing and leading but that is OK because the indirect point is you need to be good at both.

I wonder if the amount of time he had to manage the team impacted his management style while the PM was out on vacation. If he had more time, would he had done more.

Does this mean people manage to the amount of time they have available? More than likely, Yes.

Does this mean that some PMs or technical managers have too much time? No. I think their time is just used in wrong activities.

When leading a development team you have to look at each role and make sure they are focusing on the core duties of the role and remove obstacles from their paths. If your PM can't tell you your budget and forecast at any moment in the project, they are probably doing other things that are not as important.

http://www.noop.nl/2008/05/how-to-select-a-fine-technical-manager.html?cid=135566419#comments

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