Does a tech leader need to be technical? Let’s see…

My thinking has changed on this, perhaps yours might too

The term herding cats come to mind when we talk about leading technology teams. Similar to five-year-olds playing soccer. Moving in the same direction is a challenge.

Developers can be quick to judge. I remember a former leader saying something that was incorrect. My coworker and I had a good chuckle.

We had a hard time listening to him from then on. Looking back on that it was a big mistake. He had some wisdom that I should have listened to.

Technical Leaders?

Some might assume leading technical teams requires expertise. For instance, in leading Quality Assurance, one should know the basics. Early on in my career, I agreed.

In a corporate leadership training seminar, I challenged the trainer. “How can a non-technical leader command respect?” He made the case that leadership should not require technical skills.

I left that conversation dug in. I was right he was wrong. Or so I thought…

New information

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

George Bernard Shaw

John was introduced to me by a mutual friend. He asked me to help him with his technical team. John wanted to create a mindset shift.

He shared how his team did a good job following orders. So what is the problem? John wanted his team to build relationships with their customers.

Bank tellers to Financial Planners

He said, “My team is like bank tellers. They take a check and deposit the check. I want them to be more like a financial planner. The financial planner builds relationships and then anticipates needs.”

John shared one story where someone flew from Kansas City to Fort Lauderdale. They updated a server and flew home. The building director in Fort Lauderdale had four other things for them to do.

They never talked to them so they had to fly back a few weeks later. John was furious. This prompted the training we took them through.

Leadership Revelation

I began working with John to transform his team. As I did this I learned John’s history. He never had worked in technology before.

However, he was one of the best leaders of a tech team I had been around. I finally asked him. He shared something that I will never forget.

“Tom, I guess I show up curious about what they do. When they are struggling I hold the space and practice empathy.” Wow! Curiosity and Empathy.

Revisiting Old Beliefs

So perhaps I had that wrong. As I write more code over the years, I learn new things. John proved to me that technical leaders don’t in fact have to be technical.

Curious

Curiosity is helpful in all career paths. As a developer myself, I need to be curious about the technology. I am currently studying AWS and Vue.js. Interesting to see how they work.

Teams

Team dynamics can have similar facets. People interact with different approaches. Why does one team work well, while the others struggle?

Where can you revisit your beliefs? We each have some strong opinions we need to reconsider. A breakthrough can be lurking.