You're a good developer. Maybe one of the best on the team. Now the question arises: Become a Tech Lead? This guide shows you what to expect – without sugar-coating.
What Is a Tech Lead Actually?
Understanding the Role
A Tech Lead is NOT:
- A Senior Developer with a title
- The best coder on the team
- A manager in disguise
A Tech Lead IS:
- Technical decision-maker
- Multiplier for the team
- Bridge between business and engineering
- Coach for other developers
The Ratio: Coding vs. Leading
| Team Size | Coding | Tech Leadership | Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 Devs | 70% | 25% | 5% |
| 4-6 Devs | 50% | 40% | 10% |
| 7-10 Devs | 30% | 50% | 20% |
| 10+ Devs | 10-20% | 50% | 30% |
The uncomfortable truth: The bigger your team, the less you code.
The 5 Main Responsibilities of a Tech Lead
1. Making Technical Decisions
What this means:
- Architecture decisions
- Technology selection
- Weighing trade-offs
- Setting long-term direction
Typical decisions:
- Microservices vs. Monolith
- Build vs. Buy
- Which framework
- When to refactor, when to rebuild
The difference from Senior Dev: As a Senior, you give recommendations. As a Lead, you bear responsibility for the decision – and its consequences.
2. Ensuring Code Quality
What this means:
- Code reviews (or: establishing review culture)
- Defining standards
- Managing technical debt
- Testing strategy
Practically:
- Create review checklist
- Encourage pair programming
- Maintain architecture documentation
- Keep tech debt backlog
Important: You don't have to review every PR. You need to ensure THAT reviews happen and are high quality.
3. Maximizing Team Productivity
What this means:
- Removing blockers
- Optimizing processes
- Providing tools and infrastructure
- Protecting focus time
Typical blockers:
- Unclear requirements
- Missing access
- Technical debt
- Meeting overload
Your job: Remove these blockers BEFORE they slow down the team.
4. Communicating Technical Vision
What this means:
- Why are we building it THIS way?
- Where is the architecture heading?
- How does this fit the overall strategy?
Who to communicate with:
- Team: Context for decisions
- Product: Explain technical constraints
- Stakeholders: Risks and trade-offs
Skill: Being able to explain complex things simply – for different audiences.
5. Developing Talent
What this means:
- Mentoring
- Enabling growth
- Fostering strengths
- Giving feedback
Practically:
- 1:1s with team members
- Assigning stretch assignments
- Sharing knowledge (brown bags, docs)
- Leaving room for mistakes
The Biggest Mistakes of New Tech Leads
Mistake 1: Wanting to Do Everything Yourself
The problem: You see a bug. You could fix it in 5 minutes. So you do it yourself.
Why it hurts:
- You don't scale
- Team doesn't learn
- You burn out
The solution: Learn to delegate. Yes, it takes longer. Yes, it's sometimes frustrating. But it's the only way to scale a team.
The 70% rule: If someone else can do the task 70% as well as you, delegate.
Mistake 2: Not Coding Anymore
The problem: You're so busy with meetings that you don't know the code anymore.
Why it hurts:
- You lose technical credibility
- You make uninformed decisions
- You can't mentor anymore
The solution: Block "Coding Time" in your calendar. 2-3 focused hours per day, non-negotiable.
What to code:
- Prototypes for new features
- Critical infrastructure
- Code reviews
- Technical spikes
Mistake 3: Micromanagement
The problem: You review every commit, are in every discussion, give feedback on every detail.
Why it hurts:
- Team doesn't feel trusted
- Decisions pile up at you
- You become the bottleneck
The solution: Define outcomes, leave the path open. "The goal is X. How you get there, you decide."
Mistake 4: Avoiding Conflicts
The problem: Two team members disagree. You hope it resolves itself.
Why it hurts:
- Conflicts escalate
- Passive aggression
- Productivity drops
The solution: Address conflicts early. Don't judge, moderate. Find solutions together.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Stakeholders
The problem: You focus on the team and forget Product, Management, other teams.
Why it hurts:
- Surprising requirements
- Lack of understanding for tech work
- Resource conflicts
The solution: Regular sync meetings. Communicate proactively. Transparency about status and risks.
The Skills You Need to Develop
Technical Skills (Still Important)
- Architecture thinking: System design, not just code
- Breadth over depth: Overview of many technologies
- Technical communication: RFCs, ADRs, documentation
Soft Skills (Now Critical)
Communication:
- Listening (really listening)
- Giving feedback (constructive, concrete)
- Presenting (for different audiences)
- Writing (clarity, structure)
Leadership:
- Delegating
- Building trust
- Making decisions (even with incomplete info)
- Taking responsibility
Empathy:
- Changing perspective
- Understanding motivation
- Recognizing frustrations
- Considering individual needs
The Transition: The First 90 Days
Days 1-30: Observe and Understand
Goals:
- Get to know the team
- Understand processes
- Identify quick wins
- Build trust
Activities:
- 1:1s with all team members
- Work through the codebase
- Read architecture documentation (or realize none exists)
- Meet stakeholders
Don't do:
- Announce big changes
- "At my old job we did..."
- Want to rebuild everything immediately
Days 31-60: First Improvements
Goals:
- Remove first blockers
- Optimize processes
- Visible improvements
Activities:
- Solve one concrete problem
- Improve review process
- Start technical documentation
- Establish team rituals
Days 61-90: Long-term Direction
Goals:
- Develop technical vision
- Roadmap for technical improvements
- Plan team development
Activities:
- Tech strategy document
- Document architecture decisions
- Individual development plans
- Regular retros
Tools and Frameworks
For Architecture Decisions
Architecture Decision Records (ADRs):
# ADR-001: Using PostgreSQL as Primary Database
## Status
Accepted
## Context
We need a relational database for transaction data.
## Decision
We will use PostgreSQL.
## Consequences
+ Open source, no license costs
+ Team experience available
- No managed service in current stack
For 1:1s
Structure:
- Check-in (5 min)
- Their topics (15 min)
- Your topics (10 min)
- Career/development (10 min)
- Action items (5 min)
Questions:
- "What's blocking you right now?"
- "What are you proud of?"
- "What would you change if you could?"
- "How can I help you better?"
For Prioritization
RICE Framework:
- Reach: How many users affected?
- Impact: How strong is the effect?
- Confidence: How sure are we?
- Effort: How complex?
Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort
Is Tech Lead Right for You?
Signs it fits:
- You enjoy helping others improve
- You think in systems, not just code
- You can explain complex things simply
- You like making decisions
- You can handle ambiguity
Signs it doesn't fit:
- You prefer coding undisturbed for 8 hours
- Meetings fundamentally frustrate you
- You don't want responsibility for others
- Politics and stakeholder management annoy you
- You define yourself by code output
The Alternative: Staff Engineer
Not everyone has to become a Lead. The Individual Contributor path:
- Senior → Staff → Principal → Distinguished Engineer
- More technical depth, less people management
- Influence through expertise, not hierarchy
Conclusion
Becoming a Tech Lead is a career change, not just a promotion. You trade part of your coding time for leadership tasks.
The reward: Greater impact. You scale through others. You shape not just code, but teams and cultures.
The challenge: New skills, new mistakes, new frustrations. Being the best coder isn't enough anymore.
If that sounds like it could fit you – try it. If not – that's completely okay. The world also needs excellent Individual Contributors.
Facing technical decisions like Build vs. Buy? Our Build vs. Buy Framework helps with systematic decision-making. For team collaboration: Mob Programming and Reverse Mentoring.
