Not a big fan of the article either, but I think there is some benefit to at least trying to develop some skills outside of your core skill set. This is not necessarily to get good at those skills, but to develop empathy for others who've decided to specialize in those skills.
For example, I've personally realized that management is not really my thing, but having done it for a while I understand better now where my ex-managers were coming from and feel that I'm now a better employee because of that. Same for design work, etc.
And frankly I wish other people did that too. Wouldn't it be great if your manager understood your explanation of why that "tiny" feature will actually take weeks, or the designer keeps potential code complexity in mind when designing something? I think this advice applies to everyone, not just programmers.
For example, I've personally realized that management is not really my thing, but having done it for a while I understand better now where my ex-managers were coming from and feel that I'm now a better employee because of that. Same for design work, etc.
And frankly I wish other people did that too. Wouldn't it be great if your manager understood your explanation of why that "tiny" feature will actually take weeks, or the designer keeps potential code complexity in mind when designing something? I think this advice applies to everyone, not just programmers.