A great IC with the right skill sets and inclinations to be a manager will be the best manager compared to a mediocre IC or someone out of field. Most ICs don’t have the right skill sets or inclinations for management and end up being a disaster of a manager.
Agreed. You can be a decent manager with mediocre tech skills provided you work really hard on the soft-skills part, but greatness only comes from excellence in both soft & 'hard' skills.