Leveling Up: How to Navigate the Transition from Contributor to Tech Lead

Golnaz Nozari at UXDX EMEA. Video: https://youtu.be/qtIxU8ftF0s

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

Introduction and what a tech lead is

[00:00:03] I'm a technical lead at Candy Crush Saga. First of all, I would like to thank the UXDX team for giving me the opportunity to be speaking here again. In 2020, together with another colleague, we did a presentation at the UXDX conference regarding the release processes in Candy Crush Saga. And two years later, here I am again with a pretty different topic: my career journey. I will talk about the complexities and learnings of moving from an individual contributor role into a tech lead role. I hope that at the end of this presentation you will have a few key creative ways that you can carry along and incorporate into your career story.

[00:00:56] First, let's do an overview of what I'm going to talk about. I will start with an introduction of myself. Then I'm going to elaborate on what a tech lead role is. Then we will get to the main part of my presentation, where I am going to share my challenges, what played an important role in my career growth, and my key learnings. And at the end I will conclude with three key takeaways, so stay tuned for those.

[00:01:31] A little intro about me. I was born in Iran and got my bachelor's in computer engineering there. Then in 2010 I moved to Sweden. After receiving my master's degree in robotics and intelligent systems, I started working as a system developer in a computer and network security company. In 2016 I joined King as a software developer, and later, in 2018, I was promoted to senior developer and development manager. Currently I am working as the tech lead in Candy Crush. Oh, and my timeline would not be complete without mentioning the birth of my most favorite human being, my son, who is 14 months old now.

[00:02:25] So what is a tech lead role exactly? A tech lead is someone who has great technical skills in development and architecture, as well as leadership competencies. A tech lead should have strong leadership, organizational and stakeholder management skills. For example, they are able to adjust their message based on their audience. They can convert business goals and design decisions into technical solutions. They are pragmatic with priorities when they are faced with short-term versus long-term challenges.

[00:03:06] On the other hand, a tech lead should still have strong development skills. They should have broad technical knowledge, experience and curiosity about tech in order to provide the right technical direction. They keep up to date with, and promote the development of, best practices, and they usually stay an active contributor to the code base and can jump into supporting high-priority projects when there is a need.

[00:03:36] On top of this, a tech lead should have an understanding of scale, structure and long-term maintenance aspects. They guide architecture in their team and facilitate technical collaborations. They advise and challenge the teams on high-level design decisions when needed. They understand critical systems and how they can be used in the project.

[00:04:02] This might sound like a lot on one's plate, right? Well, a great tech lead knows three things well: effective delegation, cultivating team culture, and mentorship. And if I want to sum up these three in one word, it would be empowerment. Although empowerment includes more than these three, I especially wanted to end this part of my presentation with such a strong and meaningful word, which I believe should be the ultimate goal for any leadership role.

Embracing being an outlier

[00:04:41] So did I manage to get you interested in this role? If yes, then let's dive into my journey and what I found effective in order to transition from an individual contributor role into a technical lead position.

[00:04:59] There is nothing as uncomfortable as finding yourself an outlier in a group. That was how I felt when I first started my job as a developer. I didn't have many of the typical programmer attributes. I remember that I would see them in my peers, and listen to them talking about the recent games they had been playing, and I was just smiling and nodding along without having a clue. I remember times that I was feeling I would never get anywhere in my career unless I became a hardcore gamer.

[00:05:36] It took me five years of having a PlayStation sitting at my home almost untouched, maybe playing only Let's Dance on it, until I figured out that you don't need to be like others to grow in your career. In fact, I would bring different and sometimes outside-the-box thinking into a problem, just because I didn't have much idea about the common game features. And nowadays everyone is also talking about the importance of diversity in teams and how positive it is. You do not need to look like everyone else to be competent.

[00:06:20] I guess you have already heard the Ugly Duckling story by the great Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Being an outlier in one group might mean you are the perfect match in another one. So keep that in mind.

Getting out of your comfort zone

[00:06:37] When I was a junior developer, I thought the day I became a senior, things would get super easy. But I've got big news for you: nothing will get easier as you grow in your career. In fact, if you feel comfortable in your current role, you'd better question your situation. The career path is all about constant growth, and in order to do that, you need to always find challenges. You need to get out of your comfort zone.

[00:07:10] When I first joined King as a developer, I found myself among super talented experts. I was feeling so scared and so insecure in the beginning. Then we did a lot of mob programming and pair programming together with my teammates, which was the best way to get into others' way of thinking, and I could learn about how a senior developer would approach a technical solution. I also faced the reality that even the most senior people do not know everything. My colleagues were humble enough to confess their weaknesses, something that made me feel safe among them. It made me open up and dare to ask questions. This was a gateway to a fast learning curve for me.

[00:07:59] I started getting involved in server development, which I didn't know much about at that time. I started to work with different tools, trying out things that I had the least knowledge of. There were times in hackathons I had only a vision and nothing else for doing something, but I still did it. I failed many times, but also succeeded a few times as well. What I didn't notice at that time was the impact of daring to try: working on an idea from the beginning to the end, trying to explain it to colleagues that have different backgrounds.

[00:08:41] I took part in initiatives, some of which had me leave my current team and join a new one. Those have not been easy decisions for me, believe me. Who would want to leave the awesome teammates that make their everyday work fun and rewarding? But despite the hesitancy, I did it anyway, and what I gained as a result in my backpack of experiences is priceless. So feel the fear and still do it.

Horizontal growth

[00:09:16] When a developer wants to grow towards a senior position, they invest most of their time in improving their technical knowledge. For me, that was not what I wanted. To be honest, at that time I didn't even know what I wanted to be. I just had this extra curiosity about other aspects of the project other than coding. This curiosity made me get involved in different parts of the project. I would see a place for improvement in our processes and I would bring it up with our producer. I'd think of a way to test things faster and I'd share it with our QA. Sometimes I took the initiative and made the change happen.

[00:10:02] Even though these were not exactly within the career growth path of the software developer white book, I had a genuine interest in learning more about them. It was only later in my career that I realized, in order to become a tech lead, how important it is to invest in your horizontal growth as much as the vertical one.

[00:10:31] Well, I think this learning point might sound a bit controversial to you, but hold on. I'm not disregarding the importance of technical expertise for a tech lead. You still need a strong software engineering background in order to take part in technical discussions and lead the way. So do not drop that book on writing clean code, or close that blog about evolutionary architecture. Even after getting into the tech lead role, you still need to keep your skills sharp. So keep horizontal growth in mind.

Learning other crafts and caring about people

[00:11:12] In my journey as a developer, I have worked with different crafts. I've worked in cross-functional teams, working with agile coaches, producers, QAs, UI and UX, developers, you name it. Working closely with other crafts, I learned about different perspectives on the same problem. I learned that different crafts might have different priorities, but the key to having a successful and happy team is to find a balance between these priorities.

[00:11:48] I also got to know the vocabulary of different crafts. This helped me learn how to articulate myself when talking to people with different backgrounds, and this is a skill that is crucial for a tech lead.

[00:12:06] There is nothing more important than people for a tech lead. As the tech lead, you need to know your audience. You need to care genuinely about the growth of your team and work on building relationships. During my career as a developer, I acted partially as a people manager for a few years, and this was an opportunity to work directly on the development of my direct reports, and this has taught me a lot. It made me realize that having an impact on the business is not always through code. It's a big contribution if you manage to solve an administrative issue for your colleague and give them peace of mind to work on their task and focus on their work.

[00:12:56] Now, as the tech lead, I don't have any direct reports, but I still feel responsible for providing an environment for my team where they can grow and stay motivated. So, people: remember that.

Self-care

[00:13:16] Okay, this part is not necessarily about how to level up from a developer to a tech lead role. It is more general advice, for any career level: do not forget about the importance of self-care. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep a healthy work-life balance in order to be able to see a future in your career. Oftentimes we think that we need to work so hard and do lots of overtime to prove that we deserve that promotion. I want to challenge this opinion. Reaching your limits to a level where you exhaust yourself might have an impact in the short run, but the long-term outcome is not positive.

[00:14:06] As someone who has experienced burnout in her career, I want to share my learning. Seniority is about knowing how to plan your time and priorities. Delegation is the key. After all, that was one of the things a good leader knows how to do well. You remember that, right? We mentioned it earlier.

Three key takeaways

[00:14:39] Okay, I was told that three is the golden number for key takeaways in a presentation, so I tried to summarize my points into three key takeaways. Embrace who you are. Do not force yourself into being like others. Sometimes that one strength that looks irrelevant in your current role could make you a great fit for another one. Does software development feel like only part of your vocation? Then you might consider transitioning into a tech lead role. And if you want to become a tech lead, work on your other skills besides coding.

[00:15:30] Step up. Do not wait to be told what to do. Identify improvement points and take on initiatives. Take chances to give back to your community. At the same time, stay open-minded and let others grow with you.

[00:15:50] Communication is key. In order to become a successful tech lead, you need to know how to adjust your message based on your audience. Working closely with different crafts could be a great way to learn their language and build relationships.

[00:16:11] Thank you for listening to me. I hope you have found this inspirational. If you are interested in talking more, or have any questions, or just want to say hi, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can find my info on this slide in the QR code, so let's be in touch. And kudos to the UXDX team that did an awesome job to make this happen. Thank you for listening.