Are you technical enough?

(This talk was presented at Deliver Sessions in Manchester, on Thurs 11th Sept 2025.)

How technical do technical professionals have to be? Are you worried that you’re too hands-on, or not hands-on enough? Are you exhausting yourself trying to keep up with every technical detail in your domain?

Sometimes technical professionals worry they don’t have time to stay up to date with modern technology and / or the state of their team’s code base(s). Sometimes individual contributors are promoted to leadership positions and worry that they won’t be as hands-on as they used to be. Sometimes it’s the other way around: Somebody who has never been hands-on in the technical realm is given a technical position, and worries they’re “not technical enough”.

This talk explores the fears many people have around technical proficiency, as well as introduces several useful pieces of advice.

Takeaways:

• How to take a step back from “knowing all the things”
• How to make the most of the knowledge and experience of your team
• How to identify when technical knowledge matters, and when it doesn’t
• How to identify the things you need to know
• How to embrace the difference between individual contributor and technical leader

Transcript

1. Are you technical enough? @ClareSudbery
2. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd Does your team want help to improve their software delivery? Coaching, keynotes & workshops Events and info: bit.ly/claresudbery Mastodon: mastodon.social/@ClareSudbery LinkedIn: bit.ly/lin-csudbery Podcast: bit.ly/3XvyNbU
3. @ClareSudbery You won’t leave this talk magically more technical!
4. @ClareSudbery Which category are you? • You’ve been hands-on technical in the past • You’ve never had a hands-on technical role • You’re currently in a hands-on technical role
5. @ClareSudbery Leadership is more than being technical
6. @ClareSudbery
7. @ClareSudbery Embrace changes in knowledge
8. @ClareSudbery Surround yourself with people who know more than you
9. @ClareSudbery Get others to summarise for you
10. @ClareSudbery Use questions to help everyone discover what matters
11. @ClareSudbery Confidently ask simple questions
12. @ClareSudbery Work on a "need to know" basis
13. @ClareSudbery Only go deep with good reason
14. @ClareSudbery Attitude and aptitude beat knowledge
15. Compare with your neighbour any worries you have about your technical skills @ClareSudbery
16. @ClareSudbery Pay attention to how little others know
17. Ilianna: Terraform Kirsty: Hadoop Mircea: iOS Native Esra: SonarQube Georgia: Golang Rob: AWS Scott: AiOps Andy: Encryption Anik: PySpark Jon: CentOS 7 THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
18. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps PySpark Recursion THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
19. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
20. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native Golang AWS AiOps 398373 Encryption PySpark THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
21. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
22. CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
23. Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
24. iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform CentOS 7 THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
25. AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
26. AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
27. Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native AWS THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
28. Terraform Data analytics Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps Encryption PySpark THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
29. @ClareSudbery Work at a higher level: Birds' eye view
30. @ClareSudbery Emphasise your strengths
31. @ClareSudbery Ignorance becomes learning becomes exciting
32. The Lucky 10,000 @ClareSudbery
33. @ClareSudbery Don't accept prejudiced judgments about what you should be able to do
34. @ClareSudbery The Stupidity Manifesto LET’S STOP MAKING EACH OTHER FEEL STUPID. INSTEAD, LET’S… • ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ASK QUESTIONS • Lead by example: Be honest when we’re confused • Value curiosity over knowledge • Prioritise clarity over jargon • Remember we all forget stuff • Get excited about teaching and learning • Acknowledge the broad range of knowledge in our industry, and avoid judging someone if their knowledge doesn’t match ours • LET’S STOP MAKING EACH OTHER FEEL STUPID. Sign the manifesto:
35. @ClareSudbery Question what you want and need
36. @ClareSudbery You’re not alone!
37. Landing in a neat pair-synchronized way. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsY1qBeg5Qg @ClareSudbery
38. @ClareSudbery
39. @ClareSudbery ALL LINKS FROM TODAY (including a link to these slides)
40. @ClareSudbery Trifork Academy, Amsterdam Nov 19, 2025 One-day workshop “How to handle the technical part of technical leadership”
41. @ClareSudbery Upcoming events, 2025 SEPT: PulpoCon, Vigo Spain SEPT/OCT: Manchester Tech Festival NOV: Lead Dev Berlin NOV : NewCrafts Paris NOV : Trifork Academy, Amsterdam NOV : Software Architecture Gathering, Berlin publish.obsidian.md/clare-sudbery-questions
42. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd Does your team want help to improve their software delivery? Coaching, keynotes & workshops Events and info: bit.ly/claresudbery Mastodon: mastodon.social/@ClareSudbery LinkedIn: bit.ly/lin-csudbery Podcast: bit.ly/3XvyNbU
43. SocratesUk.org
44. TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP RESOURCES @ClareSudbery
45. Q & A @ClareSudbery
46. THE END @ClareSudbery