Lead Software Developers Better By Letting Go!

Over the years I've had to lead many software developers, and it's become much easier since letting go of being seen as "the expert". Even if I’m only leading a few people there’s always too much work and I have to choose really carefully what I do. If you’ve watched any of my other videos you know I’m a big fan of teams where there’s less management. But whether someone is officially recognized as a “lead developer” or not, most teams usually have people on them who are more experienced. And people naturally seem to take ownership for areas of the product they’re most interested in and can start being seen as a leader around that idea. Maybe that’s you, or maybe you’re considering stepping into a role where you’ll be leading developers to do something with the software. In my career I’ve found it’s really easy to get overwhelmed when I’m leading other developers. Meeting with the business, supporting developers, and still trying to get work done on the product myself can feel impossible. You’ve probably heard the saying “give someone a fish, feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish feed them for a lifetime”. But even though I know this, it can be hard to let other developers do more to help you if it’s going to take longer than just doing it yourself. In this video, I share how I’ve had more time to support my team when I let other developers have more responsibility, and you can too. Join my Patreon:  https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech:  https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles The Thriving Technologist career guide:  https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide You can also watch this episode on YouTube.  Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

Om Podcasten

If working on software teams feels complicated, frustrating, and filled with politics - that's just because your eyes are open. Unfortunately, you do need to make a living! So how do you keep up with the demands of your tech job and still have a life outside of work? Hi I'm Jayme Edwards, and I've had a 26 year career in the software industry filled with thrilling victories - and maddening drama. With so many problems in our industry, the more money I made the more ridiculous people's expectations were. I’m sharing the biggest mistakes I made in my career, and the insights I learned along the way. This podcast is the audio version of the Thriving Technologist YouTube channel, where you can find new episodes every Monday. Podcast versions appear on Wednesday of the same week. Subscribe and join us! Let’s help each other grow a community of healthy software developers.