It's not a good point though, because one of the important traits of a good engineering manager is that they understand the work of the ICs they are managing (at least to a reasonable depth).
I’ve had many good engineering managers over the decades. None were technical. But they were good because they did have skills in things like running interference for us. In my experience, people skills are far more important than technical skills for good engineering managers.
I’ve also had a handful of good non-technical managers over the decades, and they succeeded by having trust in the right technical people (for whatever reason, sometimes it may have been luck). What I’ve seen more often is non-technical managers place trust in the wrong people, get taken for a ride, and generally fail to pinpoint problems correctly.
You’re right that people skills are more important but they are often necessary but insufficient depending on the specific team and business situation.
An astonishing number of debates are between one group of people saying “Foo needs A” and another saying “Foo needs B” when really... Foo needs a good helping of A and B.
... same as bakery manager? And in both cases it helps understanding underlying work, unless you don't just fill forms, organize meetings and chase/yell at people (then you can be easily cut&pasted elsewhere with same great results)
