Two years ago, I transitioned from being a senior developer to leading a team. It was one of the most challenging — and rewarding — career moves I've made. Here's what I learned.
The Hardest Part: Letting Go of Code
As an IC, your value was measured by the code you wrote. As a lead, your value is measured by the output of your team. This mental shift took me months.
I had to learn that my job wasn't to write the best code — it was to create an environment where my team could write their best code.
What This Looks Like in Practice
- Resist the urge to rewrite: When a junior dev submits code that's functional but not how you'd write it, guide them instead of rewriting.
- Delegate the interesting work: It's tempting to keep the fun technical challenges for yourself. Don't. Your team needs growth opportunities.
- Accept "good enough": Perfection is the enemy of shipping. If the code works, is tested, and is maintainable, ship it.
Communication is Everything
Technical skills got me the lead role. Communication skills made me effective in it.
1:1 Meetings
I hold weekly 1:1s with every team member. These aren't status updates — those belong in standup. 1:1s are for:
- Career development discussions
- Addressing concerns before they become problems
- Building trust and psychological safety
- Understanding what motivates each person
Shielding the Team
Part of your job is protecting the team from organizational noise. Not every Slack message, meeting invite, or priority shift needs to reach your developers. Filter ruthlessly.
Translating Between Worlds
You're the bridge between business stakeholders and engineers. Learn to translate "we need to move faster" into actionable technical decisions, and "we need to refactor the auth system" into business impact language.
Technical Leadership
Being a lead doesn't mean abandoning technical work. But the nature of your technical contributions changes.
Architecture Decisions
You should be driving architectural decisions, not implementation details. Focus on:
- System design and data modeling
- Technology selection and evaluation
- Technical debt prioritization
- Performance and scalability strategy
Code Review as Teaching
Code review becomes your primary teaching tool. Use it to share knowledge, establish patterns, and raise the bar gradually.
Documentation
Write the documentation nobody wants to write:
- Architecture decision records (ADRs)
- Onboarding guides
- System diagrams
- Runbooks for incident response
Mistakes I Made
Trying to Stay the Best Coder
I spent my first few months trying to be both the best coder AND the best lead. You can't. The team suffered because I was spread too thin.
Avoiding Difficult Conversations
I delayed giving critical feedback because I wanted to be liked. This was unfair to the team members who needed that feedback to grow.
Not Setting Boundaries
I was available 24/7, responding to Slack at midnight. This wasn't sustainable and set bad expectations for the team.
What Worked
Transparent Decision-Making
I explain the "why" behind every significant decision. Even when the team disagrees, they respect a well-reasoned decision more than an unexplained mandate.
Celebrating Wins
We celebrate every launch, every milestone, every "this was really hard and we did it." Recognition doesn't have to be formal — a Slack message or a shoutout in standup goes a long way.
Investing in Developer Experience
I dedicated time to improving our local dev environment, CI/CD pipeline, and tooling. Happy developers are productive developers.
Conclusion
Leading a development team is a different skill set than writing great code. It requires empathy, communication, and a willingness to grow in uncomfortable ways. If you're considering the transition, know that it's worth it — but go in with your eyes open.