Taking over the Tech Lead role in your current team
Diving into one of the most common pathways to the Tech Lead role.
Last week, I shared the story of how I became a Tech Lead at 26. If you missed it, you can read it here. As promised, this week I’m diving into the transition process into the role.
How you end up in this scenario
When my current Tech Lead announced he was rolling off the project, I immediately offered to take over. It felt like a natural progression for me, given my experience and preparation. The leadership team agreed to my request, but with one condition: a thorough transition process to ensure success.
Creating a Transition Plan
Together with my current Tech Lead, we crafted a plan that allowed me to step into the role gradually. I initially took on the position of secondary Tech Lead, allowing me to get a feel for the responsibilities while still having support. Here’s what the transition looked like:
Established a two-month transition timeline - the moment when my Tech Lead rolled off the project.
Began attending meetings with stakeholders and other teams, initially shadowing my Tech Lead, but eventually taking over the meetings independently.
Held weekly handover sessions to gain insight into the tasks my Tech Lead was managing behind the scenes, as well as the status of upcoming team initiatives that I was not aware of
Gradually facilitated more decision-making conversations within the team under my Tech Lead's supervision, followed by feedback sessions to get input on what can be improved
I took over difficult conversations with the client, with my Tech Lead stepping in only when needed.
I took over the tough conversations with internal stakeholders: providing progress updates and addressing possible issues, with my Tech Lead available for backup if necessary.
What I would do differently
The only thing I missed, and would have done differently, was setting some clear expectations with leadership about how my team would be informed about the transition.
What I wish had happened:
Including in the plan a clear communication from my Tech Lead or someone in the leadership team to the team about the transition, explaining that I would be taking over the role, when it would happen, and outlining the plan for the transition.
What happened:
No one asked so no one answered.
There was no official communication from the leadership team to my team on me taking over the role - just to the stakeholders.
I assumed the team knew as I was getting less involved in daily team activities and focusing more on the handover plan.
I focused on the plan. My Tech Lead left. I took over.
Team members were confused on why I was leading certain conversations, attending specific meetings, and setting up 1-1s.
They felt like I was overstepping.
I was struggling and doubting myself because I wasn’t getting their support.
Until, during a 1-1, someone said: “So, you’re the Tech Lead now? I assumed so, but since there was no official communication...”
That’s when I realized the problem and I took action: I asked the leadership team to schedule a meeting with my team and make it official.
They did, apologized for the confusion, and everything moved forward smoothly.
I hope you make sure to include this essential step in your handover process.
The benefits of this approach
The benefits of this approach are: the transition process into the role becomes smoother since you’re already familiar with the team, the technology, and the product and you have your current tech lead by your side to guide your first steps.
The downside of this approach
The main downside of this approach is that your team members already know you as a fellow developer, and it can take time for them to start seeing you as a leader. I experienced this myself: because they knew me so well, it took longer for them to trust me in a leadership role. People became more hesitant to share everything with me, and at times, my authority wasn’t taken as seriously. However, these issues can be managed by setting clear expectations with the team and addressing any concerns early through honest conversations.
Overall, this still remains one of the smoothest ways to step into the Tech Lead role.
How did you transition into the Tech Lead role?
I am looking for transition stories into this role different from mine to talk about in the next articles.
If you are open to sharing, just drop me an email at anemarifiser@gmail.com 😉
Until next time,