"Do managers still code?" is one of the most common questions I get. My honest answer: it depends, and the answer changes over the course of a year.
What I do code
- Prototypes and spikes that unblock a decision.
- Internal tooling nobody else has time for.
- Small, well-scoped bugs on quiet Fridays.
What I don't code
- Anything on the critical path.
- Anything a growing engineer would learn from.
- Anything I can't finish this week.
The rule I follow: stay close enough to the code to have opinions, far enough to not block the team.