So you lead a group of engineers as a technical leader. What do you focus on? I believe that there are two important areas of focus beyond driving projects to completion. Effective leadership is about ensuring that your team thrives as a cohesive unit while each engineer grows individually. To be truly successful, it’s essential to strike a balance between guiding the team’s collective success and supporting each person’s individual development. Here’s some thoughts on what I've learned about creating an environment where both the team and its members can excel.
Part 1: Ensuring Team Success
A technical leader’s primary responsibility is to set the team up for success, which means focusing on delivering quality work that meets business goals without burning out your team. This involves clear communication, aligning on objectives, and prioritizing efficiency. Here are some strategies that have I have seen work well:
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Aligning on Business Goals
Every project needs to serve a purpose beyond just completion; it needs to tie into the larger goals of the organization. As a leader, my job is to clarify these goals, distill them into actionable team objectives, and ensure every team member understands why their work matters. "Why are we doing this?" If you can clearly communicate this to your team, then the team sees how their efforts align with the business's vision, it motivates them to put forth their best work. -
Creating a Clear, Iterative Workflow
Efficiency thrives in structured environments, and one of the best ways to streamline work is by implementing a well-defined development process. For example, Agile methodologies allow us to break down projects into manageable tasks, which we tackle in iterative sprints. This makes it easier to track progress, spot bottlenecks, and make necessary adjustments quickly. I think that whatever process you choose, doing it consistently, and educating your team on what that process is and how it works is helpful. -
Empowering Ownership and Accountability
Giving team members ownership over their projects is a very valuable. When an engineer takes on a project, they should feel empowered to make decisions, experiment, and take calculated risks. This doesn’t mean leaving them without guidance; I remain available to remove blockers and provide support. My goal is to remove blockers and let the team take the initiative and move it forward. But encouraging autonomy leads to a team that’s invested in their work, accountable, and ultimately more productive. -
Optimizing Communication Channels
Communication can make or break a team. To avoid the pitfalls of endless meetings and fragmented conversations, I work to streamline communication. This might mean setting up dedicated channels for specific projects, implementing asynchronous check-ins, or holding focused weekly standups. The goal is to foster open, productive dialogue without wasting time. It also means that I ask myself if the meetings that I attend or expect the team to attend are valuable and productive. Optimizing the method of communication and information exchange is important. -
Championing Quality
Fast delivery is essential, but not at the cost of quality. A technical leader’s role is to ensure both speed and quality, which requires a culture of code review, testing, and refinement. In our team, we aim to keep the quality bar high by reviewing code not just for bugs but also for long-term maintainability. It’s about building with pride and with an eye toward the future. Encouraging the team to incorporate greater test coverage, including tech debt, and getting them to think about what will the next person to see your code think about what you've done are helpful ways to champion quality.
Part 2: Ensuring Individual Success
While it’s critical to achieve collective goals, a technical leader should also be attuned to each team member’s personal growth. Each engineer has unique ambitions and learning curves, and as leaders, our role is to create opportunities for them to develop both their technical skills and career paths. I want people who work on the teams to manage to feel that their experience and time spent has not only helped with the companies objectives, but that they have grown and developed in their skill set, exposure and experience as software engineers. Here’s how to foster that individual growth:
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Understanding Individual Aspirations
No two engineers are alike. Some may want to advance as specialists, others may aspire to be generalists, and some may even want to pivot into leadership. Regular one-on-ones focused on career goals, skills they want to develop, and interests are essential. I see my job as helping each person align their aspirations with opportunities within the team or the organization. Ask them questions, take the time to draw out what is of interest to them, and then work on defining goals and expectations that align with those aspirations. -
Encouraging Skill Development and Continuous Learning
The technology landscape evolves constantly, and staying current is crucial for every engineer’s long-term success. I make it a priority to advocate for learning resources, whether it’s taking online courses, or engaging in side projects. Creating space for these opportunities isn’t just a perk; it’s essential for each engineer’s growth. It can be easy for engineers to be heads-down on their current work, fully absorbed, but encouraging them to look up and explore what else they may benefit from learning is critical. -
Providing Constructive Feedback and Coaching
Feedback is one of the most valuable tools in an engineer’s career growth. When delivered constructively, it can guide them to improve their work and refine their skills. I approach feedback as a coaching opportunity rather than a critique, emphasizing how specific improvements can impact their growth, performance, and potential to take on new challenges. I’ve found that by being specific, positive, and goal-oriented, engineers are more receptive and motivated to improve. -
Creating Growth Opportunities within the Role
One of the best ways to support growth is by providing chances to work on projects that stretch an engineer’s skill set. For instance, if someone is keen to improve their architecture skills, I look for ways to involve them in the design phase of a project. If they want to learn more about the back end, then we'll talk about what practical work that is coming up may present that opportunity. These chances allow engineers to test new abilities, develop confidence, and make a bigger impact on the team and business. -
Championing Engineers’ Careers Beyond the Current Role
I believe that the best leaders look out for their engineers’ long-term success, even if that means helping them build skills they may use beyond their current job. While I hope that an engineer is challenged, excited, and desirous of staying on the team and with the organization, I also recognize that they are probably not going to be here for the rest of their career. Engineers value knowing that their growth is a priority and that they’re not being boxed into a role. This perspective has helped me build strong, trusting relationships, as team members recognize I have their back for the long run.
Final Thoughts: A Balancing Act
In many ways, being a successful technical leader requires striking a balance between achieving immediate goals and investing in future potential. By focusing on both team success and individual growth, we’re not only delivering on business objectives but also creating a sustainable, thriving environment where engineers feel valued and empowered.
Technical leadership isn’t about being the best engineer; it’s about nurturing the best engineers. The more we focus on creating a supportive, growth-oriented team environment, the more success we’ll see as leaders and, ultimately, as an organization.