The constantly adapting Tech Lead

There are three primary Tech Lead archetypes:

1. The Technical Tech Lead: the go-to person for technical expertise.
2. The People Tech Lead: focuses on people and team dynamics.
3. The Adaptive Tech Lead: dynamically adapts between tech and people focus.?

With these three complex types in mind, a very common question that comes from Tech Leads is: “OK, now what? What do I focus on?”

To answer this question, start by understanding your default Tech Leadership style.

Code or no code?

The reality is, that your default style usually falls into one of the first two categories.

You either recharge your energy from solving tech problems or from solving people's problems. It’s that easy.

To discover your default Tech Lead style start with some self-reflection:?

? What are your strengths?

• You can use tools like?https://www.viacharacter.org or?StrengthsFinder?

? Find out your?work style?

? Answer these questions:

• What excites you from your day-to-day work??

Is it playing with new technology, finishing a task, or getting a room full of people to agree?

• What drains your energy in the day-to-day work?

Is it talking to people? meetings? Pairing? Coding?

• If it would be to choose between a day full of 1-1s and a day full of coding what would you choose?

When you answer, make sure to be honest with yourself - answer with the current reality not with what you would like it to be ??

Secondly, observe the signs telling you that you tend to be on one side or the other.

Signs you like to stay more on the code part:

• You are the most knowledgeable person on the team about projects the team owns and the technology the team uses
• You review PRs after work
• You are the one proposing technical solutions most of the time
• Team members come to you first with technical problems
• You are the main driver of technical innovation and upgrading to new technologies

Signs you like to stay more on the no-code part:

• You spend most of your day in meetings
• You find yourself in situations where you are not sure what task the team is talking about
• You have no focus time: always jumping from one thing to another?
• The team complains about you being away much?
• You are not able to follow tech huddles team conversations?
• Each team member is focused on their own task and no big-picture conversations (like architecture) are happening?

Most tech leads fall into the first category: they focus on tech.?Tech comes easy to them, this is what they have been focusing on until now. Going on the other side is risky, is challenging, and makes them more prone to error.

Where you want to be as a Tech Lead is in between these two types.

Adapting as a Tech Lead

?? Continued....

You can find the full article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/anemarifiser/p/the-constantly-adapting-tech-lead?r=1s7s2w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web ??