The discourse centers around the evolving role of engineering managers (EMs) and the challenge of balancing management responsibilities with the need to remain technically engaged. Many leaders express that while the managerial role often requires stepping away from coding, having coding experience is invaluable for making informed decisions, mentoring teams, and maintaining respect. A consistent theme is the tension between the need for EMs to navigate organizational politics, improve processes, and manage people versus their desire to remain involved in coding, which they view as critical to their credibility and effectiveness as leaders. The change in focus from hands-on engineering to higher-level organizational tasks has led many EMs to feel less connected to the technical aspects of their work, raising questions about how to maintain technical proficiency while fulfilling managerial roles. Trends indicate a potential shift toward eliminating non-hands-on managers as organizations seek leaders who can still engage deeply with the codebase.