The Software Word
10 Admirable Attributes of a Great Technical Lead
It‘s a position that requires intricate calibration of various personality traits
Over the course of my career in software development, I have had the great privilege of working under different technical leads. They are the people who drive the forefront technical direction of the team. I have learned much from them.
To be a great tech lead is hard. It’s an intricate balancing act between two poles of the same attribute. Too much on one side and one can fall.
Below are a few of the attributes that I admire in the best tech leads.
1. Having an Opinion Yet Not Being Opinionated On Everything
There is no tech lead who doesn’t have any opinion on anything. They are promoted to a tech lead because they have their core technical competency and are able to direct a team.
They have opinions, which leads to their decision on how the team should move forward. This is great — as at least as a team, we have a direction.
A smart tech leader, while also having opinions, knows when to keep their opinion to themselves and just listen. They know when they should harvest the knowledge of their team members and synthesize them into a better solution before deciding the course forward.
Even Steve Jobs, who was viewed as “a dictator who listened mainly to his own intuition,” said this:
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” — Steve Jobs
2. Filled With Energy Yet Calm In All Situations
I cherish tech leads who are driven. They are filled with energy. They bring the team forward. Their presence makes the team feel vibrant. Such energy is positive. They are infectious.
However, the energy that a great tech lead has is not the energy that just boosts uncontrollably. It is focused and channeled towards the goal of making the team move towards positivity.
In any crisis, the usual energetic leader is not generally bursting with anxious energy. Instead, the lead now preserves and channels one’s energy in finding resolutions to the issue. Outwardly, he is calm, as he knows this will avoid chaos in the team. The lead is composed and stays focussed, knowing bad times will not last forever.
Even if there’s no resolution to the issue, the great tech lead will still spin-off something positive, calmly.
Just as Thomas A Edison stated when his factory was burned down:
Although I am over 67 years old, I’ll start all over again tomorrow.
— Thomas A Edison
After the fire, he began rebuilding the next morning, without firing any of his employees.
3. Disown Their Team’s Successes and Own Their Team’s Issues
I once heard a teacher say this to their student:
If my student score A in exam, they have made it! If my student fail in exam, I failed
— Anonymous Teacher
Similarly, a great tech lead always promotes their team members' achievements. When the team has successfully delivered the result, the lead will praise the team, and share the good news to all, stating how well one team has done, and never one own.
However, when issues arise and need to be resolved, the tech lead will take the lead and own the issue. It may be a mistake by one of the team members, but there is no time for playing blaming game — it’s more important to get to the issue and solve it.
4. Can Comment Well and Code Even Better
If you’re a technical lead, you need to be coding.”
— Martin Fowler
I’ve heard many people say that when you’re a senior developer, you have the most time to code and be an expert in the field. However, when you’re promoted to lead developer or technical lead, time is now diverted to meetings, stakeholder management, discussions, planning, and so on. Coding time is minimal or gone.
That happens to a lot of technical people when they reach a leadership position. However, I’ve also worked with technical leads who although have many to handle on one plate, but one’s technical skill is still strong and growing. They find time to code still.
I can understand it is not an easy thing, as it requires one to pursue learning and exploration of ways to improve how one learns. A smart tech lead learns on their own through study, but they also learn from their fellow team members.
Of course, with the proper support from the organization, continue to allow some time for tech leads to focus on improving their technical skills, instead of swamped with administration and management work. Its benefits are vast — a tech lead who is technical will not only not lose one’s technical capabilities, instead one can still closely connect with one’s team technical progress.
A very good example of a great technical leader in the industry is Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux and Git.
Talk is cheap. Show me the code.
— Linus Torvalds
Despite being such a high-profile personality in the tech industry, he is still very technically connected.
5. Appreciate Old Tech and Embrace New Tech
I have seen an experienced developer who has much experience in one’s belt. A pure VI coder. One does magic with just VI and is very productive with it. To this developer, people who use IDE are pure lazy modern developers, never taking time to learn shortcuts and improve their productivity.
I have also seen a new smart developer, who knows almost every single feature and trick on IDE and is proud of their knowledge of it. To this developer, people who stay with VI or EMAC are from the dinosaur age and have never progressed to the new world.
Both are equally wrong. Not in the sense that they prefer what they like, but by demeaning the preference. I have seen a tech lead who has experienced enough to experience the worth of VI but also appreciates the handiness of the modern IDE tool.
Having a chat with such a tech lead is such a comfort, as we can get much insight into the past, of how the past influence the current technology, while also how things have progress positively, and how we can leverage and combine both tech to make our work better.
Mixing one’s wines may be a mistake, but old and new wisdom mix admirably. — Bertolt Brecht
6. Communicate Fluently and Connect Frequently
Which leader doesn’t communicate? Of course, they all do. The higher up a leader, the better their communication skill. Those who communicate well have better influencing ability and attract more followers.
However, not all leaders connect. Some communicate and influence to attain some mission and goals, for the good of the team or for personal gain. Once that is achieved, they move on to the next mission and goal.
A great leader cares for the team members. Other than communicating and leading the group, they also connect with each team member, understanding them as a person. Their focus is not only to achieve common projects goal but also how to grow its team member for the better.
There was once a question asked to a group of new leaders…. “Why do you train your people?”
The first one replied, “So that we can scale the work, and have the work not be dependent on a single person”.
The second one replied, “So that our team members will grow in their skill and be more empowered “.
Both are the result of training the people, the first one is focused on the job, and the second one is focused on the people.
7. Strive to Answer Brilliantly and Dare to Ask Stupidly
Tech leads are usually a mentor to their team members. They are normally more experienced and technically more competent in some domain. Therefore, they can coach their team members.
Being the coach, they may not know everything. That doesn’t mean the tech lead should just ignore and not support the team member when faced with the unknown. The tech lead can still strive to provide good pointers, guiding the team member on how to go about finding a solution. Always strive to provide as great a guide as possible.
On the other hand, sometimes team members will be better skilled than the tech lead in some areas. In fact, that’s always true, as the combined knowledge of the team members will definitely surpass what the tech lead has.
The tech lead who I respect doesn’t feel ashamed to admit when they are ignorant and dares to ask even questions that may seem stupid. To the lead, it is better to be “stupid” now and learn it well, than to be “stupid” and have to pretend to know it for the rest of one’s career. Such unresolved “stupidity” will compound over time. Avoid imposter syndrome.
If you ask a stupid question, you may feel stupid; if you don’t ask a stupid question, you remain stupid.
— Tony Rothman
8. Is Firm Yet Can Be Flexible
I have experienced leaders who see everything as one or zero with nothing in between. Either right or wrong. Everything goes by the book. If it is not followed, the known consequences will follow. Firm.
Such inflexibility deprives creativity. The team is ruled by mundane routines that are predictable. This is great if it is on the factory production operation floor, as every action needs to follow the procedure to the exact dot. One day, all such jobs will be replaced by automation and robots.
I have also seen the “Mr. Yes” leader, who is okay with everything. They are there to please everyone. It won’t be long before the team becomes chaotic with no processes in place. Everyone does what one likes. The team won’t last too, as the team has no focus or direction.
A great leader knows when to be firm and when to be flexible — they have set defined boundaries. The leader knows what matters and what’s not essential. They understand what the bottom line is and are flexible on the way to achieve it.
Boundaries are basically about providing structure, and structure is essential in building anything that thrives.”
— Henry Cloud
This allows team members to get their creative juice going. They can define the sub-boundaries, and own some decisions.
Boundaries are not set and stone — they change with time. A great leader re-evaluates the boundaries from time to time. Bending them when possible to open up new possibilities.
9. Leading Without Beating
The way the shepherd leads their sheep is by calling them — the sheep will then come and gather around. No beating and chasing is required. On the contrary, cowboys use whips to chase around the cows to make them move in the required direction.
In no way am I equating team members to sheep or cows. We are civilized human beings and well able to take instructions. We will willingly take instructions that ratiocinate with our value system. We will also take instructions if we are being unwillingly coerced.
A great technical leader demonstrates technical maturity, and constantly able to provide sound rationales behind one’s decision. “Because I say so” is not in their vocabulary. Although one has veto power for one’s team technical direction, it’s rarely used.
There will be some critical occasion, the tech lead has to do some unpopular decisions, challenging the status quo. In doing so, though it’s an uphill task to convince the team — they strive to ascertain the team of the decision and how it will benefit the team. Unless the team follows, they will not move forward. There’s no beating required.
You do not lead by hitting people over the head-that’s assault, not leadership. — Dwight D. Eisenhower
10. Execute It With Brain — Do It With Heart
Perhaps this last attribute sums up the core of technical leadership. A great technical leader is not only great in technical but also great in leading.
Technical demands the brain think logically, coupled with using its past experiences and the skills acquired. Leading demands that attribute that connects with the people and touches the heart. A sixth sense that cannot be reasoned with. Technical leadership requires both.
The stake to be a technical lead is high. High demand on both ends. It bridges between higher management and grass-root technical people. An equivalence balance of both capabilities is most crucial.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
— Theodore Roosevelt
TL; DR
In reality, there is no single formula to be a great tech lead. It’s a demanding position. It requires both sides of one's capability: the heart, and the mind. Sometimes, heavier on one side than the other, and sometimes the other way round. It is situational, applied differently to different people.
It may sound impossible, but I have seen many great tech leads who, while they are not perfect, strive for perfection. They are smart yet kind. Knowledgeable, yet humble. Busy, yet approachable. It was my privilege to have work with them. Hats off!