It’s also really tough for a non technical manager to assess a technical person, which makes sense. We have to different strengths and parts to play in the system, they can’t be expected to do their role and keep up with technical skills (if they ever had them to begin with). It’s a shame that we’re often encouraged to become more managerial to get ahead or to get more responsibility/“power” (in the sense of saying what we think needs to get done, or who should get recognition).

I really wish more companies would stop seeing managers as being bosses. I don’t know why a lot of places seem to think that dictatorships in the workplaces are the way to go. I’ve had so much success in places where my manager saw me (a technical lead) as an equal partner on a project, where both our opinions were weighted equally. I think it helped give those more introverted developers a voice. Since my responsibilty was the technical side I was really able to stay on top if their work and know what they were actually capable of. Some of my colleagues have had the same experience and it’s really helped us from keeping introverted talented devs from falling through the cracks.