Less Coding, More Managing

A constant theme that I’ve seen when reading about technical lead experiences is how there is less time for coding. I have finally reached that point. For the most, it has just been my senior dev and myself chugging away at the work. I did not really need to manage much since we both are very experienced. However, recently, two new people have been added to the development team, both who are more on the junior side. I now find myself doing less coding, and more managing and supporting.

Making the Mental Shift

I love coding. I love the different ways to solve a problem. I love making the code beautiful and readable. Doing less coding is somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow. However, I recognize that in order for my team to thrive, I need to focus more on making sure they have what they need to be successful. When I did the first sprint with my newer developers, I picked up my usual workload… That was a mistake. My stories rolled to the next sprint. I learned my lesson quick. The following sprint, I made sure I keep my workload to a minimum. With a smaller workload, I’ve more time to help out other devs and focus on other higher level priorities. I am still getting the hang of it, but I will definitely share how I grow in this area.