As a Team Leader, You're Not the Best Coder Anymore

08 Jan 2025 #misc

Promoting the best coder to team leader is how projects go sideways.

I’ve seen it happen. One day, an executive pats the best coder’s shoulder three times. And the next day, he’s a team leader. No training. No expectations shared. Just a new title, a team, and lots of meetings.

That new leader continues thinking in terms of lines of code and pull requests, failing to delegate, pass context, and coordinate a team.

The next thing you know, the new team leader burns out and leaves the company. The project? Behind schedule and without a leader.

Being good at coding opens doors for leadership roles. But to shine as a leader, you need stronger soft skills.

You’re not the best player on the team anymore. Now you’re the team coach. You’re not supposed to be the fastest runner or the best at kicking. You’re supposed to manage a team.

Soft skills are way more important than coding because the higher up you climb the ladder, the less it’s about coding and the more about communication, project management, and team dynamics.