5 tips to become
a good Tech Lead ! 

13/11/2020
Tech Lead | MobileThinking
The Tech Lead is the main contact within a technical team. Their position and responsibilities may vary according to the size of the company but also according to their expertise.

The position requires being a good communicator who makes the link between the product and the technical part.

So what are the main qualities to become a good Tech Lead? 

1) Coding a little, reviewing a lot!

An expert is considered to be such when they are recognized by their peers. A good tech lead is above all a skilled developer, who has a perfect understanding of the stack (programming languages) used by their team, even if they don't implement it themself.

Aware that technical liability can quickly become a burden, they will have to ensure the quality of the code delivered and will make sure to give code reviews to his collaborators in order to make them progress.

Finally, they have a global technical vision of the product and therefore constantly pass it on to their team.

2) Internal managing, but not only...

Its daily life is also punctuated by the organization of meetings on current and future projects. They organise, prioritise, and distribute tickets according to the schedules of each member of his team. (cf: Project management at MobileThinking ) 

They are constantly talking with the company's stakeholders to collect user feedback and future needs. They work closely with designers, product managers, other tech leads, and management about the deadline, the work that has been done, and needs to be. It is not uncommon for him to also be involved in the recruitment process of a future employee.

This is particularly to ensure that the candidate's technical skills are in line with the position to be filled, but also to make sure that the future employee's mindset matches the company's culture and its future team. 

3) Keeping in mind the final goal

Being pragmatic is one of the essential skills to be a good manager. In a complex situation, it will be necessary to evaluate and find solutions quickly while being aware of the consequences in order to make coherent choices.

By keeping the final goal in mind, the tech lead will be able to find a balance between doing well and doing quickly for the good of the project and pass this state of mind on to his collaborators.

The aim is to continue to deliver functionality by taking shortcuts to problems that could potentially slow down the overall progress when necessary.

4) Bring technical challenges within everyone’s reach

The importance of its proximity to the product is a necessity for customers as well as for the company that designs the product.

Thanks to its ability to popularise technical complexities, a good Tech Lead will be able to highlight future difficulties and propose alternatives while keeping in mind the customer's needs and the project as a whole.  

5) Thinking "Team First"

A good manager knows that company's culture is a key point and taking care of it is one of his first missions.

They establish and maintain a culture of knowledge sharing so that everyone can develop their skills and feel valued and listened to. And also ensure team cohesion and resolve conflicts quickly to avoid a burdensome atmosphere taking over the mood of team members.

Because communication in a project is essential, a good Tech Lead will listen but will also be able to put in place additional tools.

They should also organise recurring meetings so that developers can share and exchange ideas on internal or external issues and encourage good development practices.

Conclusion

As we have just seen, Tech Lead's position involves putting on multiple caps.

A rewarding role combining technical expertise and management of his team while being at the core of the product and customer needs.

At MobileThinking, we are experts in the development of web and mobile applications and take on the role of Tech Lead for our clients in each of their digital projects.