So you've become a Tech Lead - great! Now what?

You have just been promoted to a Tech Lead role - Congratulations! But something is wrong :(. Suddenly, you're struggling and under delivering. Everything you thought you knew about being a great developer is thrown out the window.

Being a Tech Lead is more than just being the best technologist in the room. In fact, the objective of a Tech Lead is completely different to a Senior Engineer. A Tech Lead’s sole aim is to make the delivery team as effective as they can.

In this presentation, which was presented to DDD Brisbane in December 2019, you will hear/see how Sarah has helped many upcoming Senior Engineers transition into successful Tech Leads. You will learn more about the expectations of the role and take a look at key attributes for a tech lead. We will dive into the five key capabilities that they need: Custodian of Vision, Project Management, Information Radiator, Mentorship and Productionising the Tech; which are underpinned by Influence Skills, Leadership Styles and Conflict Resolution. If you have been struggling with your new responsibilities, or you are progressing towards this role, this talk is for you.

Transcript

1. So you’ve become a Tech Lead - great! Now what? Sarah Taraporewalla 1 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla DDD Brisbane, December 2019
2. @sarahtarap SARAH TARAPOREWALLA TECH PRINCIPAL @sarahtarap
3. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP 3 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
4. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP FREEDOM 4 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla My turn...I get to make all the decisions now…I’ll keep doing what I was doing yesterday
5. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP CONFUSION 5 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Why am I being pulled into so many meetings? 
 Why doesn't the team get what they are meant to be doing? 
 Why do I have to repeat myself so many times?
6. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP OVERWHELMED 6 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla there’s so much to do. I don't think I can code any
7. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP LOST 7 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Wait - what do you mean the code does that? ...
 I haven't looked at the code for weeks...
 I miss coding
8. 5 STAGES OF TECH LEADERSHIP CONFIDENT 8 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Ok, so I'm going to code a bit and do the other stuff a bit...
 and...how do I manage my time
9. What got you here, Won’t get you there 9 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
10. What is a Tech Lead? 10 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
11. POSSIBLE CAREER PROGRESSIONS According to Pat Kua’s Trident Model 11 MANAGEMENT INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla @patkua
12. POSSIBLE CAREER PROGRESSIONS According to Pat Kua’s Trident Model 12 MANAGEMENT INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla @patkua
13. TO MAKE THE DEV TEAM AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY CAN BE 13 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
14. Sponsor and support the growth of your team members MENTORSHIP INFORMATION RADIATOR Facilitate the sharing information PRODUCTIONISING TECH Ensure all aspects of Tech are met, not just functionality CUSTODIAN OF VISION Inspire and lead the team to a shared vision PM FOR TL Deliver working solutions early and often TO MAKE THE DEV TEAM AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY CAN BE IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TECH LEAD. THE REST IS JUST DETAILS © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
15. Custodian of Vision 15 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Inspire and lead the team to a shared vision
16. CREATE, VISUALISE AND COMMUNICATE YOUR
 TECHNICAL VISION What is your current state? What is your target state? What is your path to get there? WHERE ARE YOU HEADED? 16 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
17. SOCIALISE YOUR ARCHITECTURAL
 VISION, PRINCIPLES and GUIDELINES John Lewis - http://engineering-principles.onejl.uk/ Monzo - https://monzo.com/blog/2018/06/29/ engineering-principles UK Government Digital Service - https:// www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard Scout24 - https://github.com/Scout24/scout24- engineering-values-and-principles SOME EXAMPLES 17 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
18. FACILITATE 
 IN THE BOX DESIGN What patterns will you adopt? How will you structure your code and tests? What tools will you use? 18 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
19. MAKE THE TEAM EFFECTIVE BY BEING THE 
 CUSTODIAN OF VISION Create, visualise and communicate the tech vision Socialise your architectural values, principles and guidelines Facilitate in-the-box design 19 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
20. Project Management for Tech Leads 20 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Deliver working solutions, early and often
21. DELIVERY vs CLEAN CODE DICHOTOMY 21 Delivery Clean Code © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
22. MAKE THE TEAM EFFECTIVE BY DOING 
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT for TL Clear blockers for the team Story prioritisation and Scope management Play interference for long-running stories Contrive clever ways to descope work 22 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
23. Information Radiator 23 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Facilitate the sharing of information
24. INTERPRET TECH FOR NON-TECH PEOPLE 24
25. MAKE THE TEAM EFFECTIVE BY BEING AN 
 INFORMATION RADIATOR to project stakeholders to Business to other project teams back to your team out to the community 25 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
26. Mentorship 26 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Sponsor and support the growth of your team members
27. © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
28. https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/09/07/22/42/tea-438480_1280.jpg 28 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
29. MAKE THE TEAM EFFECTIVE THROUGH 
 MENTORSHIP Identify the gaps in your people Offer effective feedback Help the person to set their goals Provide opportunities for growth, ownership over specific areas 29 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
30. Production-ising Tech 30 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Ensure all aspects of tech are met, not just functionality
31. MAKE THE TEAM EFFECTIVE BY CHAMPIONING THE 
 PRODUCTION-ISING YOUR TECH Advocate for your sensible defaults Driving for a smooth Path to Prod Champion your CFRs Focus on the right type of testing 31 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
32. CUSTODIAN OF VISION Inspire and lead the team to a shared vision PM FOR TL clear blockers for the team story prioritisation scope management play interference for long- running stories contrive clever ways to descope work Deliver working solutions early and often INFORMATION RADIATOR Facilitate the sharing information to project stakeholders to Business to other project teams back to your team out to the community Sponsor and support the growth of your team members identifying gaps providing feedback goal setting providing opportunities for growth, ownership over specific areas PRODUCTIONISING TECH Ensure all aspects of Tech are met, not just functionality advocate sensible defaults path to prod CFRs testing. create, visualise and socialise the tech vision incl architectural values, principles and guidelines facilitate in-the-box design, values, principles and guidelines MENTORSHIP TO MAKE THE DEV TEAM AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY CAN BE IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TECH LEAD. THE REST IS JUST DETAILS INFLUENCE STYLES LEADERSHIP SKILLS TIME MANAGEMENT © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
33. Influence Styles 33 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
34. Sphere of Concern Sphere of Influence SPHERE OF INFLUENCE 34 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Sphere of Control
35. Sphere of Concern Sphere of Influence SPHERE OF INFLUENCE 35 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Sphere of Control
36. SIX PRINCIPLES OF INFLUENCE BY ROBERT CIALDINI 36 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Reciprocity Once you’ve helped someone, they’ll be more likely to return the favour when you need it Consistency and Commitment If people commit to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honour that commitment Social Proof People will do things that they see other people are doing Liking People are easily persuaded by other people that they like Authority People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts Scarcity Perceived scarcity of a product makes consumers want it more
37. Leadership Skills 37 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
38. High Directing Behaviour Low High Supporting Behaviour Supporting Coaching Directing Delegating SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP MODEL 38 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
39. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP MODEL 39 Developing Development level of an individual Developed Low competence High commitment Low-some competence Low commitment Variable commitment Moderate-high competence High commitment High competence © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
40. HOW DO YOU MAKE DECISIONS 40 Consequential Inconsequential © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla Irreversible Reversible GATHER EVIDENCE SPEND TIME DECIDING DELEGATE DELEGATE
41. KEY TO GOOD LEADERSHIP IS 
 ACTIVE LISTENING Listen to understand their position, not assert your own Pause…and uncomfortable amount of time Paraphrase and question for clarity 41 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
42. MY RECOMMENDED READING LIST 42 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
43. Time Management 43 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
44. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TECH LEAD 08:00 : Personal Admin Email, check production logs, stats, analytics to see how the system is responding 08:30 : Coffee ☕ with a dev 09:00 : Standup 09:15 : Dev Huddle Discuss the stories in play, how to get them over the line, decide on who is pairing with whom 10:00 : Grooming the backlog with the PO, BA, IM 10:30 : Meeting with the architects to discuss upcoming design 11:30 : Story Checkin with all dev pairs to see how story is tracking, if there are any problems, how we can help 12:00 : Lunch with Dev Team. 13:00 : Coffee ☕ with a dev 13:30 : Pairing on a story 15:00 : Story Elaboration with BA, QA on upcoming stories 16:00 : Catch up with technical stakeholders 16:30 : Story Checkin with all dev pairs to see how their story progressed, and what we need to carry over into the next day 44 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
45. A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A TECH LEAD 45 Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. 12:00 Mon. Pairing w/ team Lunch and Learn Team Retro Personal Admin Showcase IPM Coffee with Dev Backlog Grooming Pairing w/ team Personal Admin Coffee with Dev Lunch w/ devs BA/TL/QA Story Check In Pairing w/ team Personal Admin Coffee with IM Social Lunch BA/TL/QA Story Check In Architecture meeting Thinking time @ Desk Personal Admin BA/TL/QA Story Check In Coffee with Dev Stakeholder Lunch Walk with Dev Personal Admin Coffee with BA Lunch w/ IM/BA/TL Thinking time @ Coffee Shop BA/TL/QA Story Check In Story Elaboration
 Co-Design sessions Walk with Dev © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
46. THE EISENHOWER MATRIX 46 DO DECIDE DELEGATE DELETE Urgent Not Urgent Important Not Important © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
47. EVERY GOOD TECH LEAD NEEDS A COMPANION 47 © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2019/11/19380788-low_res-doctor-who-series-12-8a638e1.jpg?quality=45&resize=960,639
48. CUSTODIAN OF VISION Inspire and lead the team to a shared vision PM FOR TL clear blockers for the team story prioritisation scope management play interference for long- running stories contrive clever ways to descope work Deliver working solutions early and often INFORMATION RADIATOR Facilitate the sharing information to project stakeholders to Business to other project teams back to your team out to the community Sponsor and support the growth of your team members identifying gaps providing feedback goal setting providing opportunities for growth, ownership over specific areas PRODUCTIONISING TECH Ensure all aspects of Tech are met, not just functionality advocate sensible defaults path to prod CFRs testing. create, visualise and socialise the tech vision incl architectural values, principles and guidelines facilitate in-the-box design, values, principles and guidelines MENTORSHIP TO MAKE THE DEV TEAM AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY CAN BE IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TECH LEAD. THE REST IS JUST DETAILS INFLUENCE STYLES LEADERSHIP SKILLS TIME MANAGEMENT © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
49. IF YOU ONLY REMEMBER ONE THING, REMEMBER THIS 49 BE VULNERABLE SEEK FEEDBACK LEARN AND GROW © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla
50. @sarahtarap SARAH TARAPOREWALLA TECH PRINCIPAL @sarahtarap © 2019 Sarah Taraporewalla