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Patrick Kua is a Technical Principal Consultant for ThoughtWorks in London. He is a conference speaker and author of “The Retrospective Handbook” and “Talking with Tech Leads” and is passionate about bringing a balanced focus on people, organization and technology.
Key Takeaways
- Horrible bosses don’t have to be managers, they can be more senior people on the team.
- Personal issues should be taken offline, after calming down.
- If you are a junior colleague trying to resolve an issue with a more senior colleague, find another senior individual to act as a mediator.
- Developer to tech lead is a huge jump and changes the expectations.
- When you are a dev your workload consists of code, working with fellow devs and solving tech problems.
- When you are a team lead your workload consists of people issues, planning and whole system architecture.
- When moving to a tech lead role, it can feel lonely.
- Your focus is on the broader view, not tech issues.
- You’re not working on the same issues with your old friends.
- You’re starting to spend more time in meetings with people outside the department.
- However, you have a broader impact on the organization.
- You set the culture.
- Instead of having really deep relationships with a small group of people that you pair with every day, you need to invest time with the broader team.
- You must get outside of your comfort zone and spend time with people with different styles.
- Your emotional range and capacity to connect with people will grow as your career grows.
Resources Mentioned
- HTP-86 If You’re Not Pair-Programming You’re Wasting Money — Llewellyn Falco on Productivity
- Talking with Tech Leads: From Novices to Practitioners by Patrick Kua
- The Retrospective Handbook: A guide for agile teams by Patrick Kua
Sponsors
- Burdene – The bot that remembers where you parked your car.
- Transource Media – Podcast and media production.
Contact Guest
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