After reading your answer I can see now how the OP may have a negative attitude towards the staff. The OP might not understand that wording is very important and the wording in their question does convey a tone of disrespect towards their staff.

Excellent view regarding college degrees. Most of the best and brightest IT / Programmers I know never went to school.

@DigitalFire a friend of mine who is a self-taught hacker who never went to college is a VP now. It's funny how many lucky people there are in IT

Exactly what I came to comment about - the wording of the question itself smacks of not respecting the skills on the team. I also laughed at the "herding cats" metaphor, because it's entirely accurate. I've been on the team side of this situation, with a non-technical manager who just couldn't seem to click with us. Half the team - 4 or 5 people - ending up quitting or being fired before it was done (myself included). The best way to manage IT people is to give them a goal and some key milestones to reach along the way - leave the details to them whenever possible.

@Omegacron I've been on both sides. First, as a manager where I failed spectacularly, then as a tech, and then again as a project manager(having learned my lesson) and was VERY careful to respect the people assigned to my project as they could make or break me. The job of a manager is to say WHAT needs to be done, not how to do it. Set goals and guidelines, then step back.

@RichardU You make a very valid point. "The job of a manager is to say WHAT needs to be done, not how to do it". This is one of the biggest challenges new managers face. They don't want to "seem weak" to their "underlings" so they start commanding them as opposed to leading them.

@SaggingRufus I always said "I need your help on this". I didn't care about my ego, my ego didn't write my paycheck.

@RichardU as a good leader should

I like this answer as it shows responsibility as the manager. The first thing is introspection of oneself. If it was completely bogus then I doubt a complaint would even stand up, unless upper management was in their back pocket. Focus on how to become a better manager and then try to help people become better employees. It takes a leader, not a manager to lead others. It takes a good manager to organize the what into good structure. Very important not to mistake a title for ability to lead. Great opportunity to grow and learn, not just to remove perceived obstacles.

@RichardU The ability for people to get ahead with or without degrees really depends on the organization. I have been at places that you are capped in advancement without a degree, sometimes this has led to wasted talent.

@kleineg who said one had to remain at such a place that values a meaningless piece of paper over talent?

I'm a college dropout, the only paper to my name is my high school diploma, yet I have climbed my way up to a salary north of $80K/year (US). I tend to look down on people who think degrees are important or a requirement for IT positions ;) (yes, it's tongue in cheek)

@kleineg Yep, and some places won't even hire you. The last place that hired me got to see in increase in their bottom line by several million dollars. Too bad for the places that wouldn't hire me.

@Mat'sMug In the case I am thinking about the person in question absolutely did not stay, and it was the company's loss.

Managing IT staff is like herding catsAs and IT staff... Meow... I... resent that... Meow Meow Meow!

Nice answer, +1. I'd also recommend you add that the fact that OP allowed this to fester for a while "fast forward again" is another pointer to it being at least partially OPs fault. OP should have nipped this in the bud after no more than a month.

@RichardU "The job of a manager is to say WHAT needs to be done, not how to do it." - I think this is an important enough point that it should go in the answer. If they are saying "You're not technical" it's probably because the OP is trying to make decisions like they are, and having a blind driver at the wheel is upsetting to the passengers.

@EthanTheBrave Good idea! Will do

Saying that trying to reset a broken relationship might be challenging would be an understatement, especially if trust has been broken by the mgr.