STORIES
This blog is written by Rick Buter, frontend developer at Triple.
About a year ago, I wrote a blog post summarising my first year at Triple. I described the responsibilities and tasks I got and the progress that I made in that year. I ended my blog with the conclusion that one of my main focuses of the second year would be finding out what my long-term goal regarding personal growth would be and finding a position that suits the things I enjoy doing. I also explained that, within Triple, everyone is eager to help you find your ‘north star’. This was basically what kicked off my second year at Triple.
The start of my journey was finding something to hang on to. When looking at internal job openings, I looked at jobs that appealed to me and tried to find similarities. I quickly noticed that all of the positions had broader responsibilities than just coding, and web in particular. These jobs varied from very technical to not technical at all.
In the following weeks, I tried to narrow down the positions to a few that were reachable within several years. It’s good to have an ultimate goal, but to work toward that goal; you need to take smaller steps. In the end, I had two positions that had my interest, which were opposites from each other: solutions architect and product owner.
I discussed these positions with several colleagues who have either experience in one of the jobs or have worked with someone who had that specific role. My first goal of these meetings was to get a clear view of the similarities and differences between the two. The second goal of the meetings was to make sure that people knew that I was trying to set a career path for myself. Once they needed a solutions architect or product owner, people knew I might want to fill that gap if I was ready.
In October 2021, I went to a React conference in London. Even though the subjects were relatively diverse, I didn’t understand a lot due to me being relatively new to (professional) development. After I returned, I told myself that if I ever got the opportunity to go the year after, I’d spend more time preparing to ensure that I got the most out of the conference.
Well, I got that opportunity again in 2022. Though the subjects were broad in 2022, most talks focused on one thing: the new version of React. During this conference, I noticed that I didn’t give a single damn about why React works the way it works. I like implementing React to suit users’ needs, but I don’t care about inner features that do not matter whether a web app is a success. I left the conference rather demotivated.
One particular talk had my interest though: a presentation from Michel Weststrate. He was a software engineer who changed direction and became tech lead. He didn’t talk about coding but about the transition between the two functions and the lessons he learned along the journey. Since I was also a developer looking for a different direction, this talk appealed to me and would later become a source of inspiration (spoiler alert).
Change of direction
As I mentioned, I noticed that I like to be more involved in a project than just the web part of it. I like to think more broadly than just code. During a short-term project, I had a glimpse of specific responsibilities that usually are the tasks of a Tech Lead, and I enjoyed doing that. In the following weeks, I started summarising everything I’d written down from what I’d read and heard during meetings with coworkers regarding my career path. While I was still focused on Solutions Architect and Product Owner, I got the opportunity to be a Tech Lead.
I mentioned that one of the reasons I talked to people was to show that I had ambition. One of these colleagues spoke to another colleague. A few weeks ago, one of our clients needed a Tech Lead. At the time, no Tech Leads at Triple were available, so that colleague asked me if I was still eager to become one myself.
I tried to connect all I gathered to tangible job titles, including Tech Lead.
Defining Tech Lead role
I spend some time researching the position to get a clear view of a tech lead’s responsibilities. These types of research are somewhat separable into two types: Internal guidance and external research.
Internal guidance
Approximately every two months, we have an ‘evolution conversation’ where you discuss your progress of the previous two months. During one of these meetings, I mentioned that I was trying to set my career path. My manager explained several roles and people I could talk to to get to know these jobs better.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, people at Triple are eager to share their knowledge and the lessons they have learned in their careers. So, they usually respond enthusiastically when I want to talk to someone. To me, planning a conversation with the first colleague got the ball rolling. This person spoke to someone else about my ambition, which started the process of me getting a Tech Lead role in a project.
Within Triple, we have several documents to refer to when you want to understand how you can improve in your specific role. I referred to two primary documents when trying to learn more about what a tech lead does, the first being a document describing the differences in responsibilities and tasks between a Solutions Architect and a Tech Lead.
As you can see, several main topics are included in the document, with several sub-topics. This document was one of the primary sources of information I referred to when I tried to learn what a tech lead does and its responsibilities.
The second document is the skill matrix for Tech Leads. This document explains how tech leads are valued within Triple. It includes several topics with subtopics, each with a specific “level” attached to it. The “levels” really helped me get a clear view of what is essential as a tech lead, and what is not.
External research
While doing internal research, I also tried several other ways to get a clear view of what defines a tech lead. One of these ways was looking up people with a Tech Lead function on LinkedIn. I was most interested in the road these people took to get where they are and how long that took from when they started developing.
Next to that, I started looking at job openings for Tech Leads. Job openings are a great way to get a clear view of the primary responsibilities. Next to that, vacancies are an excellent addition to Linkedin profiles since they describe what the core activities are. The main focus was to find similarities in the vacancies. Every company has its understanding of tech leads, but the bottom line is that it’s good to know what the core responsibilities are.
Via these two ways, together with the internal research, I got a clear picture of what a tech lead’s responsibilities are, and what is expected of me when I would have this position.
Summary
At the beginning of this year, I started searching for what I wanted to do in the long term. I quickly realised I wanted more involvement in a product or project than just the web aspect. After looking at several internal vacancies and talking to several people within Triple, I finally ended up with Tech Lead despite some detours. In the following weeks, I talked a lot and researched a lot to get a clear picture of the responsibilities and tasks of a Tech Lead. Eventually, I was lucky enough to get the chance to take on this role in a new project.
One of the most important things I have learned is to keep wanting to improve yourself. You have to want to continue to develop yourself intrinsically. In addition, it is essential to know what you know and to know what you don’t know. Make sure that when you don’t know something, you surround yourself with people who complement your weaknesses and trust their expertise.
The last thing I learned is that it is important to prepare yourself well. Especially when you start a leadership position at a young age, people will look at you differently: you come in as a greenhorn. When you prepare yourself well, people will see that, increasing your persuasive power.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead short term, I got several classes planned to ensure that my knowledge and skills have a solid base to build upon. The first project where I’ll be functioning as a Tech Lead will start in several weeks. I’ll see where I’m currently standing in the first few weeks. If I lack knowledge or skills, I’ll contact the right people to help fill these gaps. I know I’m not qualified yet to take this role on my own, but luckily I have some guidance from multiple experienced colleagues whom I can talk to when I’m in doubt.
Ontdek de Triple Universe
Leer meer over Triple, onze cultuur of neem een kijkje tussen onze vacatures.
