Career fulfilment through skills and network
I just released a short “Developer’s Handbook” that shows how to define your own growth goals, build a quarterly roadmap, find mentors, showcase wins, and turn stretch projects into mini‑promotions.
👉 Grab the full article here: techleadmastery.substack.com/p/developers...
Clean code, happy teams — but how?
✅ Tag debt backlog items
✅ Reserve 10‑20% of each sprint for debt tickets
✅ Add CI quality gates (lint, complexity, coverage)
Check the full playbook with real‑world results at techleadmastery.substack.com/p/tech-debt-...
95% of AI pilots crash – engineers pay the price. MIT finds $35‑40B spent, 9/10 deliver zero ROI.
Why?
Scope creep, costly in‑house models, wrong targets. Win: pick ONE narrow problem, use a proven off‑the‑shelf tool, set a KPI.
👉 techleadmastery.substack.com/p/ai-disaste...
Effective retro flow for developers in 30 min:
1. set a goal
2. review last actions
3. silent brainstorm
4. vote top pains
5. define ≤2 concrete actions with owners.
👉 Check out the detailed flow in my article at techleadmastery.substack.com/p/sprint-ret...
Stripe engineers were moving too slow. In 2018, rapid growth led to too many meetings, slow code reviews, and tool overload.
Fixes:
1️⃣ Fewer approvals, faster merges
2️⃣ Slack & docs replaced status calls
3️⃣ Monorepo + microservices balance
Takeaway: Cut approvals, reduce meetings, streamline code
Want to be a tech lead but no growth path at your company?
Most developers wait for a promotion—that’s a mistake.
✅ Mentor without being asked
✅ Speak up & drive change
I break it down in this week’s newsletter—read it here 👇
www.gabortill.com/become-tech-...
Want to be a tech lead but no growth path at your company?
You don’t need permission to start leading.
✅ Help a teammate level up
✅ Share insights beyond code
✅ Own a process and improve it
✅ Push for team-wide improvements
Most companies promote those already leading. What’s stopping you?
Leaders don’t get picked because they write great code—they get picked because they already act like leaders.
If you want to move up, start proving you are ready now, check out my latest newsletter issue 👇
www.gabortill.com/prove-tech-l...
#techlead #leadership #teamlead #devlead
We all need that
Solid advice, @brittanyellich.com
Clear writing makes for clearer thinking, and that’s a skill every engineer needs.
That’s some next-level dedication to employee feedback, @johncrickett.bsky.social
Maybe they just needed a full year to process your departure!
It's a great story. Thanks for sharing it, @jirijerabek.bsky.social
To learn more, you can read the latest article "5 mindset shifts needed to grow from engineer to leader" that we did together with @gabortill.bsky.social here: newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/5-mindset-...
When I first became a lead dev, I thought I had to have all the answers
Then I quickly understood that control doesn't help as much as trust
✅ I started explaining my decisions clearly
✅ I asked for input before making calls
✅ I focused on people instead of projects
People follow those they trust
Both matter, @devleader.ca
Too much coding, and the team doesn’t grow.
Too much coaching, and nothing gets built.
Balance is critical, but incredibly difficult to get right.
True, @johncrickett.bsky.social
Thinking something is impossible usually just means you haven’t found the way yet.
A simple mindset shift can change everything.
Exactly, @rafapaez.bsky.social
If all the praise goes to last-minute saves, the team ends up chasing disasters instead of preventing them.
Quiet, consistent work should get just as much respect.
That’s not an unpopular take at all, @brittanyellich.com
A senior engineer’s influence is built on trust, and daily interactions, while a manager’s influence often comes from structure and policy.
What people do matters way more than what they’re told.
Why don’t great developers automatically become great managers?
@gregorojstersek.bsky.social and I discussed this and turned it into a collaboration. I shared 5 mindset shifts that helped me grow from engineer to leader.
Read the full article here 👇
🔗 newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/5-mindset-...
The pleasure is mine, @gregorojstersek.bsky.social
It was great to collaborate on this article with you @gregorojstersek.bsky.social
Moving from engineer to Tech Lead means shifting from just writing code to guiding others.
It was really cool to work with you on this article, @gregorojstersek.bsky.social
Most engineers think leadership is about writing great code. It’s not.
You can stand out by:
— Thinking beyond their tasks
— Owning problems not just fixing them
— Managing up & communicating impact
Want to get noticed for leadership? Here’s how:
www.gabortill.com/key-leadersh...
A design system can be a great tool, but not every project needs one from day one.
Good advice, @gregorojstersek.bsky.social
Being the go-to person builds trust and credibility.
Focusing on one area and doing it well makes a big difference.
Interesting take, @piffio.bsky.social
GenAI does make people feel more productive, even when it might not be real.
The long-term effects will be important to watch.
Sounds like a great find, @brittanyellich.com
It’s always exciting to dive into a book that just clicks.
Good advice, @jirijerabek.bsky.social
Starting with a design system too soon can slow things down.
Letting design grow naturally keeps things flexible.
Congrats @systemdesign.one
6,127 people in two weeks says a lot.
