Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (9/23)

This week we're going to cover a grab bag of random, but helpful, topics for your tech leadership.

Hey Tech Leads,

Last week we did a deep dive into the mysterious topic of influence as a tech lead. Hopefully I dispelled the notion that only some gifted folks have it. Influence is actually pretty easy to define and a straightforward skill to develop, but it’s very hard to execute day to day.

This week we’re going to do something a bit less focused but hopefully no less impactful for you. I hope, at the end of the week, some of the themes will come together. 

On Monday, we’re going to explore the idea that everything as a tech lead takes ten times as much effort as you think it is. Not to be negative, but it’s not the code—that’s the easy part. It’s all the other stuff: the coordination, the follow ups, the miscommunications. But it’s OK! This is real, important work. It’s what leads do.

On Wednesday, I’m going to dive into a sensitive topic, for me anyway. Having interviewed for many engineering manager and tech lead roles at very large and very large companies (and everything in between), I have ideas that might run a little contrary to some of the common guidance out there.

On Friday, I may flip the script on what I’m going to say on Wednesday so we cover both ends of the spectrum. Despite what I’m planning to say on Wednesday, the famous college basketball coach, John Wooden’s favorite quote was this:

No written word, no spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be, nor all the books on all the shelves, it’s what the teachers are themselves.

How's that for cryptic? It's going to be an interesting week, so watch your inbox!

It’s a new week tech leads! Let’s make the most of it!

-michael