How can I avoid turning into a pointy-haired boss?
Image via Wikipedia
The pointy-haired boss is a manager who doesn't program. So the surest way to avoid becoming him is to stay a programmer. What tempts programmers to become managers are companies with old-fashioned corporate structure, where the only way to advance in salary and prestige is to go into management. So if you want to avoid becoming a PHB, avoid such companies, and work for (or start) startups.
I never had to manage anyone in our startup, even though I was the president. The other hackers were my peers, and would have given me the raspberry if I'd tried to "manage" them. We operated by consensus. And the rest of the company reported to our experienced COO, who was also more of a peer.
Why be a manager when you could be a founder or early employee at a startup?
I have been through the phase of being a manager who didn't program, for the reasons Paul mentions above. Hopefully I learned quickly enough that I didn't like being in that role. While I haven't started my own start up yet, it is definitely one of my goals.
