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5 Things I’ve Learned About Tech Leadership
While some may have leadership tendencies, no one is born knowing how to be a leader

Tech leadership is a mystery to many. As one racks up years of experience as a developer, there’s often an assumption that one must eventually move into tech leadership to continue to grow. And while this may be true, given the structure and hierarchy of the company you work for, the jump from individual contributor to tech leader isn’t always smooth. The two roles have some crossover in skills, but each also requires its own unique set of skills to get the job done as well.
I’ve been a tech lead of sorts for a lot of my career, from my time managing a development team to my side freelance projects, which often involve managing subcontractors. But it’s only in the last two years that I’ve been at Happy Cog, where I’ve been a tech lead in a more official capacity. With that shift came a lot of trial by fire, and I’ve definitely learned a lot along the way.
There are always ways to improve, and I most certainly don’t have all the answers. But here are a few things I’ve learned along my journey into tech leadership.