Chapter 1 of 7 · 4 practices · 3 min · 3-question quiz
Define the role
Tech lead means different things at different companies. Agree what it means for you before you try to do it well.
Start: Agree in writing what you own and what your manager owns4 practices in this chapter
- 1Agree in writing what you own and what your manager ownsThe tech lead role overlaps with engineering management, product management and senior engineering, and every company draws the lines differently. Unclear lines cause the classic failures: two people…
- 2Measure your success by what the team ships, not what you shipAs an individual contributor, your output was your code. As a tech lead, your output is the team's output. A week where you wrote little code but unblocked three people and settled a design question…
- 3Keep coding, but stay off the critical pathWriting code keeps your judgment grounded and your credibility with the team. But a tech lead is interrupted constantly by reviews, questions and meetings. If you take the most urgent, most complex…
- 4Plan your week around both maker time and lead timeThe role pulls in two directions: deep technical work needs long uninterrupted blocks, while leading needs you to be available. Without a plan, interruptions win and your own technical work…
Check yourself on this chapter
3 questions, right here once you are signed in. Your progress is saved as you read.