IT manager - non technical

How come the IT industry is ok with Managers that play the card "I'm not technical". Why are you in the IT field? I agree the a manager does not have to be an expert in a field to manage the work, but seriously, they should have some notion in what is being created or managed. How can a manager truly know if the project is going off the rails if they can't understand what is being developed? How can they seriously know what is required to retain the talented IT staff?

Your Thoughts?