People

As a Tech Lead, you will be experienced and skilled at many aspects of people leadership. This will be especially true of areas that feel like natural extensions of an engineering skill set, including building consensus around a decision or course of action, shaping team ways of working, and mentoring colleagues.

But strong technical skills do naturally equip you to handle more human concerns like setting and tracking objectives, giving meaningful feedback and dealing with performance issues.

When working with people, and especially when leading people, it is essential to understand the natural variation in intrinsic personality types and neurology, as well as possible mental well being issues and even the person’s varying moods on any particular day.

Dealing with things like this can feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable, and you may even doubt your ability to ever get to grips with it — or to feel comfortable doing so. But with practice and experience, it becomes easier and over time many come to see these skills as a crucial part of their success.