How coding is holding you back from becoming a Tech Lead

You fix the hardest bugs.
You review every pull request.
You jump in when someone is stuck.
You push yourself to be the top developer.

Because that’s what you believe you need to become a leader.

But that belief might be holding you back.

Why coding can hold you back

As a software engineer coach, I hear this all the time:

I can fix things quickly.

Everyone comes to me for help.

I get pulled into every tough problem.

I have a lot of tasks, so I write a lot of code.

When I ask how that feels, people usually say:

It makes me feel valuable.

It feels productive.

It feels good.

And that makes sense.

But if all you do is code, you won’t have time to:

• Think about the big picture

• Improve team processes

• Talk to stakeholders

• Spot risks early

• Guide others

These are the things tech leaders actually do.

So if you want to move up the ladder, you need to make space for them.

5 steps towards leadership

1. Don’t take every difficult task

When an exciting feature comes up, your first instinct is to take it.

But next time, leave it to someone else.

Someone who has less experience, and offer your support so they can learn.

👉 This gives others space to grow—and you the chance to start thinking like a leader.

2. Write down how you solved things

Don’t just close the ticket and move on.

Share your thoughts on how you found the problem, what didn’t work, and what finally did.

Whether in doc, comment, knowledge-sharing session, or quick message. Just make it visible.

👉 This builds a culture of clarity. People will start looking to you for guidance, not just solutions.

3. Clean up the mess

Pay attention to the little things that slow your team down.

Unclear Jira tickets, missing docs, clunky handovers.

Don’t ignore them—point them out and suggest improvements.

👉 This shows you’re thinking beyond your own work. That’s what leaders do.

4. Make one teammate better every week

Take time to help others grow.

Pair programming and pair reviewing are great ways to share your thinking and offer useful advice.

👉 You’ll start being seen as a mentor—not just a developer.

5. Suggest process improvements and follow through

There’s always something that could be improved.

Daily standups too long, priorities unclear, testing problems...

Suggest a better solution. Then try it out with your team.

👉 Leading change, even in small ways, builds trust fast.

You don’t need to be the best coder to lead a team.

You need to help them do their best work.

I’m writing a book called 99 Steps to Tech Leadership.

It’s full of real, short and practical steps like the ones above—designed for engineers who want to grow beyond coding and start leading.

I’m giving away the intro and first section for free before the full version comes out.

Would you like it?

Just reply to this email or send me a DM on LinkedIn.

– Gábor