Team Leads and Tech Leads are two critical roles in any software development team. But go from team to team and you’ll find the roles and what is required of them are drastically different. Here’s my take on the difference between a great Tech and Team Lead.
I can build you a tractor or a Cadillac (perhaps there are better terms to use today but I still like these). A Tractor will get you there, wherever you are going, without fail, it will be solid, it won’t breakdown and it will do the job (i.e., work hard). Tractors don’t mind getting dirty because it’s all part of what they do to get the job done. A Cadillac will get you there, but…
Maybe make a plan (I do this from time to time). Writing it down helps (I heard and have tried). Committing to a schedule (yes this is definitely great). Get a support group (this never helped me too much). Break it into smaller tasks and when you’ve mastered one task, move on to the next (this helps greatly). Always keep challenging yourself with variations on what you are doing (prevents falling into a mold). But…
I think one of the hardest parts about meetings isn’t that we have to attend them, or that they could have been an email or that so many people were invited to them. It’s when we spend all that time in them, with no outcome determined and no next steps to happen. It’s then that we leave wondering – why was I here?
Want to show how good you are at something? Want people to see how good you are? Show them how much you love it. Even if it doesn’t go your way, what’s the worst that happened? You showed them how much you love it and that will never change.