Well, most software engineers don't despise managers. Engineers despise suits who don't understand software engineering. Sadly, most suits fall into this category and to make matters worse they turn out to be control freaks. They want to control something that they don't understand and this pisses engineers off. Managing a team of talented software engineers is more art than science. Good luck trying to win the hearts of engineers while being a control freak who doesn't understand what the team is doing.

All the prominent CEOs and execs who stand out are exceptions to this case. They foster strong team building and give complete freedom for the team to execute. They own up to their mistakes. Most of them are not control freaks, but they are detail oriented (Jobs). It's a joy to work with such managers.