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Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

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Re: Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

#31

Post by Malic »

randcraw wrote: post #20

What's a good source on becoming a software dev lead? Here are a few suggestions among the many available: Brooks' "The Mythical Man Month" is a classic in this space, though I think its emphasis is less on leadership than the difficulties in software project management. And the book is rather dated now. DeMarco and Lister's "Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams" is also a classic, and emphasizes interpersonal t…

DeMarco and Lister's "Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams" was published way back in 1987 with 2 new editions over the years.

And even the first edition untouched is still completely relevant.

While its focus is "getting teams to work well together and develop good software", I think it has excellent viewpoints and advice for any workplace where people use their brains for a living, regardless of what the company does.

I'd also like to add "Debugging the Development Process: Practical Strategies for Staying Focused, Hitting Ship Dates, and Building Solid Teams" by Steve Maguire.

Re: Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

#36

Post by locopati »

Learn to listen. To your team members. To your peers. To your boss(es). To people in other departments. Not just to their words, but their body language, their activities, the way they carry themselves in meetings.

I am constantly learning from the people around me how I can be a better manager. If I see something that catches my attention about the way someone handles something, I aim to bring that into my own toolkit.

Re: Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

#37

Post by curun1r »

dorfsmay wrote: post #4

- you're going to be part of a lot of meetings, email list etc... Make sure you flow information down to your team, every day. - your main job will be to: - unblock your tam members - bring them back on track - consensus is great, but sometimes it doesn't work. Know when you need to make a decision even if not popular. - praise publicly, criticize in private - give people a chance (give warnings)

Also:

  - Be explicit about your expectations for each of the team members. This is a
    discussion, not a declaration.

  - Give feedback early and often, both constructive and kudos.

  - Your first priority is the productivity of your team, not your individual
    productivity. This means taking the time to help team members that are
    struggling, even at the expense of closing out your own stories on time.

  - Don't be afraid to be vulnerable, admit your own failings or tell your team
    that you don't know. Allowing your team to see the decision making process
    when you go through it can be very valuable and is much better than just being
    the guy who has an answer to everything. As a plus, showing your own
    vulnerability will lead to your team showing their vulnerability more readily.

  - Even if you've got the answer, sometimes it makes sense to let your team make
    the decision. There are often many right answers. Remember, your job isn't to
    choose a right answer, it's to ensure that the team doesn't choose a wrong
    answer.

Re: Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

#39

Post by burkemw3 »

curun1r wrote: post #37
dorfsmay wrote: post #4

- you're going to be part of a lot of meetings, email list etc... Make sure you flow information down to your team, every day. - your main job will be to: - unblock your tam members - bring them back on track - consensus is great, but sometimes it doesn't work. Know when you need to make a decision even if not popular. - praise publicly, criticize in private - give people a chance (give warnings)

Also: - Be explicit about your expectations for each of the team members. This is a discussion, not a declaration. - Give feedback early and often, both constructive and kudos. - Your first priority is the productivity of your team, not your individual productivity. This means taking the time to help team members that are struggling, even at the expense of closing out your own stories on time. - Don't be afraid to be…

> Your first priority is the productivity of your team

I agree! The grandparent talks about unblocking team members and bringing them back on track. These little tweaks happen frequently as part of team productivity.

Other things also affect the team's productivity though! Consider how productivity will be impacted with various paths forward (Should we implement feature A or B, should we implement it with X or Y?)

Re: Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?

#40

Post by [deleted] »

dorfsmay wrote: post #4

- you're going to be part of a lot of meetings, email list etc... Make sure you flow information down to your team, every day. - your main job will be to: - unblock your tam members - bring them back on track - consensus is great, but sometimes it doesn't work. Know when you need to make a decision even if not popular. - praise publicly, criticize in private - give people a chance (give warnings)

[deleted]
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