Why you need soft skills as a Tech Lead
Most tech leads think they only need strong technical skills in order to be effective as tech leads. I definitely believed so, and I was quickly proven wrong once I stepped into the role because the daily challenges that I constantly encountered required soft skills to be addressed.
Here are some examples:
Two developers cannot agree on a technical solution
Two developers fighting for hours over what JSON parsing library to use: my first instinct, like most tech leads, was to dive into the technical options myself and pick the "best" solution. I definitely made this mistake early on. But over time, I learned to ask questions before jumping into action. By listening to both sides, I realized that, surprisingly, the conflict was not about the parsing library but actually these two people had a recurring underlying conflict between them so they could not agree on pretty much everything. So, instead of diving into the JSON libraries, I helped them resolve their personal conflict.
The team is not addressing tech debt
The team wasn’t addressing tech debt: despite having the knowledge, the time, and the product buy-in to tackle it, nothing was progressing. The root issue wasn’t a lack of technical capability but the absence of someone willing to take ownership and drive the process forward. As a tech lead, you could easily step in and take charge, but that’s not sustainable long-term. The more effective solution is to enable and empower a senior team member to take on this responsibility and lead the initiative.
All these situations, along with countless others I’ve encountered or seen other tech leads face daily, have led me to the same conclusion:
Most tech problems are people problems.
And solving these people problems requires strong soft skills.
7 soft skills you need to develop as a Tech Lead
Especially these 7:
Listening: everything starts with listening more
Building relationships: building strong relationships will help you set the foundation for collaboration, alignment, and commitment
Feedback: is your best tool for growing your team members and yourself
Delegation: is the secret to effective leadership and team empowerment
Facilitation: will help you bring all voices to the table and help your team reach decisions collaboratively
Conflict resolution: disagreements are not just inevitable but actually a sign of a healthy team: you just have to learn how to navigate them effectively
Mentoring and Coaching: by making use if mentoring and coaching tools you can help your team grow without telling them what to do
Soft Skills for Tech Leads O’Reilly course
In my O’Reilly online course, 'Soft Skills for Tech Leads', I explore these essential soft skills in-depth and provide hands-on, immediately applicable strategies to help you develop them.
The timeless value of soft skills
Investing in your soft skills is always a wise decision. They never become outdated and are universally applicable. After all,
No matter how much tech develops, you will always have to work with people 😉
