Tech lead squad! đȘ What's on tap this week (Mar. 2) - We're getting fundamental with the Four Core
The fundamentals should NEVER get boring if you're going to be a great tech lead.
Tech leadsâ
Itâs going to be a great week, no matter what happened with the stock markets and Coronavirus during the last one. In just a few hours, the sun will rise on Monday and bring with it another chance to do some great work.
Coming up this week weâre going to go back to the fundamentals againâthe Four Core capabilities you need to be a great tech lead (or hands on engineering manager, or startup CTO).Â
Fundamentals. Again?!
Two reasons: one, doing great work means masteringâand practicingâthe fundamentals. You know this is true with code. If youâre so excited to work on the latest Javascript framework that you write sloppy impenetrable code, then youâre a less effective software engineer than you could have been.
Second, my thinking on the Four Core continues to evolve, so I want to refresh it a bit and share the new insights with you. The fundamentals are never a one and done thing.
Finally, I need to keep putting this out because the world needs more great tech leads. As weâll talk about on Monday, itâs clear that few in our industry actually put those three words together (âgreat, tech, and leadâ), let alone expand it with a few more words to say, âI want to be a great tech lead.âÂ
This weekâs lineup
On Monday (No. 83), weâll talk about the fact that most of your peers simply donât care about being a great tech lead, but you do. Youâre reading this list! So weâre going back to basics to review of the Four Core, starting with listeningâagain. Itâs such a foundational and overlooked skill. Itâs one that requires great work ethic and the commitment and consistency to be a great tech lead.Â
On Wednesday (No. 84), weâll dive into two more aspects of the Four Core: showing up and vision crafting. Vision crafting is the topic I tend to gravitate to the most lately because it gives you so much leverage in all the other topics. Showing up is the less sexy topic but contributes strongly to your day to day effectiveness. Combined, theyâre a tour de force.
Finally, on Friday (No. 85), Iâll try to encourage you to finish strong! đȘ Weâre going to get into the wonderful world of tracking and adjusting. They are two capabilities that come together into one motion, and really bring all the other capabilities together in the process.
Remember, with the Four Core, Iâm asking you to trust me that these ARE the four most impactful capabilities to bring to your tech leadership.
They may seem simple or obvious, but if they are so simple and obvious, then why is nobody doing it?
To be honest, I havenât seen many tech leads that can hit all four at any given moment, let alone consistently. If you can pull all four together, youâre going to CRUSH it. And theyâre well within your abilities!
Letâs explore it this week together tech leads!
Thanks for inviting me along in your journey. Hoping to help.
-michael