A common question I hear is, “Is the Tech Lead role necessary?” People argue against the role, claiming a team of well functioning developers can make decisions and prioritise what is important to work on. I completely agree with this position in an ideal world. Sadly the ideal world rarely exists.
Even when perfect conditions exist during which team members talk to each openly, discussing pros and cons before arriving at an agreed solution, it doesn’t take much to upset this delicate balance. Sometimes all it takes is for a new person joining the team, a person leaving or some stressful critical situation that drives the team into a state where arguing continues without end. My friend Roy Osherove calls this the “Chaos state.” I agree with him that a different style of leadership may be required, similar to the Situational Leadership Model.
Technical debates occur frequently in development teams. There is nothing worse than when the team reaches a frozen state of disagreement.
Image take from Emacswiki
The Tech Lead has the responsibility to help the team move forwards. Sometimes that means using their authority. Sometimes it means working with the team to find a way forward. Facilitation and negotiation skills are invaluable assets to a Tech Lead. Understanding decision making models helps the Tech Lead decide when to step in, or when to step back. What is important is finding a way forward.
Tech Leads are also beneficial to people outside of the team, forming a single point of contact. Medium to large organisations start to hit communication barriers because there are too many relationships to effectively build and maintain. The Tech Lead role simplifies the communication path, although simultaneously adds a single point of failure. The balance between these two trade-offs should be carefully managed and monitored.
When played well, the Tech Lead provides countless other benefits, however the Tech Lead role does not have to played by a single person. I admire teams who say they don’t have a Tech Lead and software is still effectively delivered. They have successfully distributed the Tech Lead responsibilities or established processes to mitigate the need for the role. It does not necessarily mean the role itself is useless. The Tech Lead role is just that – just a role. Instead of focusing on whether or not the role should or should not exist, it is better to focus on ensuring all Tech Lead responsibilities are met.
If you liked this article exploring the Tech Lead role, you will be interested in “Talking with Tech Leads,” a book that shares real life experiences from over 35 Tech Leads around the world. Now available on Leanpub.
