Satyaprakash Joshii

Tech Lead and Team Lead are different designations in IT Companies. Although some responsibilities and day to day work would be similar, there would be some differences too. How are responsibilities and day to day work of Tech Lead different from that of a Team Lead?

fred rosenberger wrote:  I  routinely speak to people from (and in) different countries than where I was raised. I'm from the USA, but I work with people from India, China, Ireland, the U.K., Belgium, Singapore, Nepal...,  Cultural norms vary drastically, and what one person sees as assertive, someone else sees as bullying.

True, but if you could give some example for USA, that would also help understand to some extent.

I want to correctly understand assertive communication and learn how to do assertive communication at office. What are some ways in which I can understand this correctly and learn?

Thank You

I would like to add couple of more points :

5) Try to be an expert on following the processes and not wait for anyone to tell.

6) Be very professional. Try to self review and self certify your work.

These are just based on my opinion.

While I have been trying to improve my communications skills , I realised some more points as below :

7) Communication should neither be "aggressive" nor "too soft ".It should instead be "assertive".

8)Communication should have Brevity.

9) For good communication skills one should have good listening skills too.One should never interrupt while the opposite person is speaking but should listen carefully to him and then speak.

These are just my opinion.

Overall, I think broadly below are the 4 qualities required to be a good team leader :

1)Firstly , a clear vision on what is to be done and also the big picture.
2) Clear communication skills.
3) Team handling skills and never responding angrily to any team member.
4) last but not the least, being fast and technically strong ofcourse.

I have made some notes on what I think are some best practices for a Team Leader. These are just based on my understanding. If there are any more or if there are any corrections ,do add:


Leadership

Description:

- is the layer between management and developers. Should be always knowing the overall picture of the development to communicate.
- sort of role model for the team.
- should know how to walk ahead of the team but also be aware that at time people behind him may be knowing better direction and thus should be open to take the direction from them too in that case.
- has to be the "It works" man. has to take the responsibility for the project, make it work and keep it on track.


Responsibilities:

As he is layer between the management and the other developers:

 To the management he:
   - communicates with the management for taking the requirements. Takes clarification.
- Gives estimates and negotiates on it as well as on the deadlines.
- reports any issues/risks.
- sends status report to the management. Updates them on the big picture.
- finally, ensures the successful delivery.

 To the developers he:
   - may be required to distribute the work.
   - guides them as he knows the project architecture if they have any clarification questions or any roadblocks.
- review code.
- ensures that coding standards are followed.
- mentor, coach.

Skills a leader should possess:

   - should be confident and people friendly. Should keep smile as he is to be a role model for others.
- should never ever lose his temper.
- should be responsible person.
   - should have ability to keep clear understanding of the overall project in his mind.
- should be very clear in communication (with team as well as with management)
- should be very fast in work.
- ability to quickly review someone's work accurately.
- should be technically good.
- should give credit to team wherever required.
   
   
How to lead?:

Divide total time into leadership and coding out of the 40 hours.
Take requirements. Clearly explain to team and guide them.
Negotiate and say no to improper deadlines.
Divide work into team.
Review their work.
Make sure that they are following the coding standards.
Help them if they get stuck somewhere.
Raise risks if any.
give status report to the management along with risks/issues.
take responsibility in case of any technical issue.


Tips :

- Always keep yourself ready in mind with what to communicate. (whether with team or with management).
- Draw rough diagram of tasks to keep thinking clear.
- Dont expect to get too much time for coding as there will be time wasters keep plan to do focused coding of few hours everyday.
- Complete work ready well in advance as there may be some time wasters later on.
- Keep a plan for crises.Carve way during crises .
- be accurate in decisions else all time will be lost.

Paul Clapham wrote:On the other hand, for some of us the day of the week is irrelevant. Monday, Thursday, Sunday, they are all the same. Often we don't even notice that it's a statutory holiday until we go out and find that the stores are closed.

How is such a thing achieved ?

Feelings at different times :

Friday evening - delighted ,excited ,relieved.
Saturday morning -happy.
Saturday night -happy.
Sunday morning -happy.
Sunday evening - sad.

Is it natural to become sad as soon as Sunday evening comes?
Are Monday blues normal ?

Junilu Lacar wrote:
I really don't know why it seems like a concept that's hard to understand. The "manager" trusts that the people cutting trees actually know how to cut down trees. The manager makes sure the trees are getting to whoever needs them. The manager is looking for other trees to cut down. The manager is managing the business, not the people. The people are taking care of business, if they are professionals. If not then the manager has to be a babysitter instead.

Perfect explanation with the help of this analogy.

Sometimes, analogies help us visualise and thus understand better .

Thank You

Junilu Lacar wrote:
Managers need to order computers, approve the purchase of IDEs, get budgets for development environments, etc. We developers are responsible for making sure our skills are up-to-date. .

While I fully agree that it is the responsibility of development team to keep the saw sharpened, in the same analogy what will the manager do during the project of cutting  the trees?

Satyaprakash Joshii wrote:

If the work is to cut the jungle , the LEADER will be actually cutting the jungle with his team and guiding them while trying to follow the agreed instructions accurately.The MANAGER will observe whether the jungle is getting cut as per the schedule. If not ,the manager will find the deviations present in plan and remove the reasons .E.g the saw is not sharp, so provide sharp saw to the leader and his team.

Sorry. It seems to me that the example given by me was seriously wrong .

Why ? Because, Saw is not a correct example to use here as Saw for the development team would be skills which is their responsibility.

Junilu Lacar wrote:No asking for permission, just do it and get on with the work. It's called "being a professional."

Permission for what kind of things ?

Junilu Lacar wrote:

Leading is different from managing. Coaching and mentoring is different from managing. A senior technical person on a good agile team is a leader/coach/mentor, not a manager.

I think I have understood this.

If the work is to cut the jungle , the LEADER will be actually cutting the jungle with his team and guiding them while trying to follow the agreed instructions accurately.The MANAGER will observe whether the jungle is getting cut as per the schedule. If not ,the manager will find the deviations present in plan and remove the reasons .E.g the saw is not sharp, so provide sharp saw to the leader and his team.