## Metadata - Author: [[patrick-kua|Patrick Kua]] - Full Title:: Talking With Tech Leads - Category:: #📚Books - Finished date:: [[2023-02-02]] ## Highlights > The Tech Lead brings value by enabling everyone on the team to contribute code as much as possible; by avoiding rewrites due to people working in different ways; by managing technical debt to make it easier to add code, and by promoting relationships between the development group and business colleagues to ensure the code addresses business goals and delivers true value. As a leader, you enable others to do their work; you harmonise and thereby maximise the efforts of the entire group, not just an individual. ([Location 224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=224)) > Allow them to try their own approaches, but if you sense it is heading in the wrong direction, find ways to let them see that for themselves. ([Location 243](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=243)) > In years gone by I have been concerned about needing to ‘know everything’ in order to be a Tech Lead, which, of course, is a fallacy. ([Location 418](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=418)) > I developed user stories, but I rarely drove them to completion, relying on my pair for that. I rotated frequently to switch context and gain an overall idea of the approach our team was taking on different aspects. ([Location 474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=474)) > A person may crave opportunities but may hesitate to proactively take them on. ([Location 501](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=501)) > Meet-ups and discussions in my local community. Attending specific events related to the technical challenge is a good place to start. ([Location 521](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=521)) > At the start of every day, I spent 30 minutes browsing through the git commits of the whole team, looking for areas of improvement. ([Location 539](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=539)) > Yes, a Tech Lead must be technically competent, since this helps build respect and rapport with people, however the Tech Lead does not necessarily need to be the best technically and, in many cases, does not necessarily have the deepest technical skills on the team. ([Location 716](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=716)) > I have had to accept that it is more productive to pair with team members ([Location 762](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=762)) > and provide guidance about the code they produce rather than writing all the code myself. ([Location 763](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=763)) > Your time is only one person’s worth. Your team’s is n times that. Your focus should be on their productivity. ([Location 795](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=795)) ^b5be38 > do not get to explore, or try different things in code that I used to do much more as a developer. ([Location 811](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=811)) > introducing a rotating role of “Concierge” to our team, who was dedicated to answering drop-in requests on a given day. My team is happy to get get better acquainted with our larger community and the interruptions are tolerable since they’re spread across all members of the team over a few weeks. ([Location 854](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=854)) > essential to find opportunities to help the team grow so that I have the freedom to just facilitate things I was once leading. ([Location 880](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B014Q2C4M4&location=880))