Mar 22, 2017
The 7 Things You’re Doing Wrong As A Tech Lead
“Tech Lead” is, without doubt, the role that I’ve seen engineers struggle the most with. Being a great engineer does not translate into being a good Tech Lead. If I had to boil it down to a single key phrase it would be : “Bad Tech Leads don’t demonstrate leadership”
Most Tech Leads that I’ve worked with have transitioned from being a high-performing individual contributor; possibly the best ICs in their organization. This is a world in which they have great control of outcomes : they have mastery of the tech stack they’re using, they can deliver features and functionality with confidence, and solving a roadblock just entails working extra hours. The world of Tech Leadership relies on a different set of skills.
To be sure we’re on the same page, here’s a definition of Tech Lead that I like :
The tech lead is the mini CTO of their team. They ensure successful delivery of your team’s goals and projects. They operate at multiple levels :
- Individual level — They own their team’s technical decisions
- Team level — They maximize the team’s output and ensure successful delivery of goals
- Company level — They make sure their team is moving the needle for the company
Sound reasonable?
In the following posts, I’m going to cover my Top 7 pieces of advice for being a successful tech lead…
