Hello Everyone! After a period of absence from writing, I'm back, trying to get back into the swing of things. I want to emphasize that the experi...
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
Thank you for sharing your experience with being a tech lead! It's really helpful to see a detailed breakdown of the process. I highly related to all these as a tech lead myself. I wish you all good things in your journey :)
Hello, thank you very much for the feedback. Good to know that what I wrote made sense :D
Haha, it did. The role took me some getting used to as well, but you get better with time. :)
Thank you so much for sharing! This helped me alot to ease my newgrounds anxiety.
I'm a senior frontend dev who had no team for most of my years of experience, and just became a lead with 2 jr devs in my team, i gradually converted from senior 1 - as you have mentioned - to senior 2, and now I'm trying to balance between 2 and 3.
I'm glad my writing helped you!
Such a good article! I had a lot of feelings reading about your experience and could put myself in your shoes. I never became a true senior developer and today, as a team leader, I sometimes have this empty feeling inside.
Hey, as we say here in Brazil: muito obrigado! I have to tell you that it's a completely normal feeling and I'm sure many colleagues in the field share the same thing we feel.
Mh in your conclusion I hoped that you will give a sneak peak about the next steps or what do with your insights.
So what should I do as a tech lead. Create a team that is in balance with those characters? Pairing the teaching senior with the code grunt and let them watch by the deadline guy?
Your article is great. I am eager to read more of that.
Yeah, good to know that you liked the article! These are good suggestions that can be taken to another part talking about how to manage everything you said. This is perhaps one of the most present challenges in the life of a tech lead.
This is great!
I'm glad you mention the importance of soft skills. In any organization it is very challenging to steer the ship if there's miscommunication between various people. Software is especially difficult because we are constantly dealing with different layers of abstraction, which absolutely comes up when communicating/figuring out requirements between developers, marketing, design, etc.
Hi Matheus, thank you so much for sharing your experience as a Team Lead — it was incredibly valuable for me as a Software Engineer.
I’d really appreciate your guidance on how you approach time estimation for projects. As a developer, I’ve noticed that the same task can take different amounts of time depending on the person and the blockers they encounter. With that in mind, what are some good practices or approaches you follow to define realistic deadlines?
Hello, Nice to Meet you! Great question. Estimating deadlines is one of the most complicated aspects of technical leadership — and, honestly, one of the most sensitive aspects.
Over time, I realized that making a good estimate isn’t just about thinking about the technical effort, but also understanding the real context of the person who will be executing it. This involves the technical side, of course, but also the emotional, cognitive and even the environment in which the person is inserted.
One of the first things I usually do is break everything down into smaller parts. The more granular the task, the easier it is to estimate accurately. “Building a control panel” is vague. But “setting up statistics endpoint” already gives you a much better idea of the time.
Another point: I never estimate with a fixed number. I always prefer a range, like “3 to 5 hours”. This already provides a healthy margin, especially because we know that unforeseen events happen — and not every day we wake up in the same mood or with our heads 100% on track.
Speaking of which: the person’s emotional state matters a lot. Sometimes the task is easy, but you're not having a good day. This completely changes productivity. So yes, I take this into account. You can't treat everyone as if they were a constant.
Now, a crucial point that many people ignore: learning time. We forget that before doing something, sometimes you need to learn. And that changes everything.
For example, if the task involves a stack that the person already knows, great — the execution time is straightforward. But if it involves a new language, framework or tool, it's a different story.
And then you have to think about two things:
Research time (documentation, examples, etc.)
Assume time + first attempt with errors
This can double or even triple the estimated time, depending on the stack.
For example: creating a REST API in Node.js can take 4 hours for someone who already works with Express, but it might take a whole day if the person came from Python/Django and has never worked with modern JavaScript or middleware.
With more verbose technologies, such as Java with Spring or even infrastructure with Terraform, the entry gap can be even greater.
So, whenever the stack is new to someone on the team, I separate:
Learning estimate
Execution estimate
And I make this clear in communication. This helps everyone understand that delay is not “slowness” — it is part of the natural process of technical evolution. What’s more, this learning curve is an investment for the next cycles. Once learned, it accelerates a lot in the next sprints.
I also take invisible time very seriously: code reviews, meetings, deployments, waiting, context switching... all of this eats up real time and needs to be factored in.
And of course: an estimate is not a contract. I always reinforce with the team and the product people that the estimate is a starting point, an attempt to align expectations. If the scenario changes, we adjust — it’s that simple.
Ty for share your xp!
Actually I have a little doubt about my future inside programming. I'm communicative, I love to share my knowllege and I like to manager people, but I love to code xD
Awesome article, really enjoyed it! It was insightful.
Thank you for sharing it.
Wow, I have really learnt a lot from you sir. And I wish you could be my Trainer.
Currently, I'm not a college graduate and honestly, communication is my challenge.. I try to code and deliver on time but.. I don't know how to present my projects in the midst of people.
That's my challenge...
So because of this. I am jobless..
Hey, the journey is a little difficult but with people by our side we can overcome it. Feel free to contact me using the contact details on my dev.to profile!
Thanks, Lucas! I loved reading about your experience and learned a bit about the behind-the-scenes of the life of a Tech Lead. It's pretty interesting and daunting at the same time. Cool. 💯
Hi Ayush, thank you very much! Good to know that my insights were interesting to you!
Hello Lucas Matheus ,
thanks for your article!
In my opinion it is easy to read and insightful.
Hey Akin, thank you so much!
Hello @sampseiol1
Great article, thank you for sharing with others.
How do ensure that you are updated with new trends in your field, or does it even require being a PL.
Hi, great to know that you liked the post! The way I stay up to date on topics in the area is usually through connections or knowledge that is provided at three points: university, company and internet blogs. the important thing is that you filter what is interesting and what is best is an evolution of what you do.
Thanks for this. I hope to lead a team one day.
Such a nice sharing of experience!😇
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your experience! It is indeed valuable for young developers like us who are trying to grow in this tech environment.
Thank you very much for your comment, reading things like this fills my heart with joy. I wish you lots of positivity in your career.
Awesome Article, learnt a lot from your experience.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. It was so helpful! :)
Awesome article! Thanks for sharing your xp!!
Cool
Excellent article. Learned alot.
Congrats, Lucas Matheus. May your team and leadership skills continue to shine.
A senior also knows about the business rules implemented.
Thank you very much for the experience. I am sure you have inspired others and myself who will find ourselves in your shoes in the future.
Thank you for sharing as a Fresher or Buddying Flower in the Tech Field; it is very useful and made me decide how to work in your space and others.
thanks alot for sharing
Did you use ChatGPT/LLM to help you write this? It gives me those vibes
haha, no way! My writing style is approaching something more robotic :/