Just the name Tech Lead has this kind of prestigious ring to it, and if you're like most programmers you might think it's the job to shoot for. But 20 years of my career have been spent leading software teams, and you might be surprised to know that tech lead is actually the worst job for most programmers!

Some of the information in this video applies to IT professionals in any technical leadership role: whether that be leading programmers, UX, DevOps, QA or any other discipline related to software development. But several of the points are more specific to programming leadership.

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CHAPTER MARKERS

0:00 Introduction

1:20 1 TECH LEAD MYTHS
1:29 1.1 Smartest Team Member
2:11 1.2 Writes The Best Code
2:59 1.3 Chooses Key Technologies
3:45 1.4 Most Highly Compensated
4:12 1.5 Motivates Through High Standards

5:19 2 WHAT SHOULD A TECH LEAD DO?
5:22 2.1 Improve Team Effectiveness
6:35 2.2 Defend Team Members
7:52 2.3 Congratulate Team Publicly
9:00 2.4 Getting Team Consensus
10:19 2.5 Help When Things Get Hard

12:57 3 HOW BAD TECH LEADS GET PROMOTED
13:28 3.1 Strong Individual Contributor
14:13 3.2 Company Promotes Out Of Fear
15:01 3.3 Management Misunderstands Role
15:25 3.4 No Desire To Lead

16:15 4 BECOMING A TECH LEAD
16:34 4.1 Practice Defending Your Team
18:19 4.2 Practice Congratulating Team
19:30 4.3 Read Books on Leadership
20:46 4.4 Work Closely With Others
21:52 4.5 Learn More About the Business
23:28 Episode Groove

#programming #softwareengineer #softwaredeveloper