17 votes

Recommended reading for new tech leads?

Hey all, I'm transitioning from a plain old software engineer at my company to tech lead (first in responsibility, then eventually in title)!

I'm very excited about the opportunity, but the role is new, both for my company and personally. Would anyone have recommended reading I could peruse? I'd love to get a solid footing for what I should be doing as a tech lead, and how I can do it well!

2 comments

  1. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    congrats! I'd recommend: anything written by Michael Lopp aka Rands in Repose - books or blog posts. I wasn't aware of his most recent book (Small Things, Done Well) but I just added it to my...

    congrats! I'd recommend:

    • anything written by Michael Lopp aka Rands in Repose - books or blog posts. I wasn't aware of his most recent book (Small Things, Done Well) but I just added it to my to-read list.

    • the stories on staffeng.com and perhaps their book.

    • if you haven't read them already, the Architecture of Open Source Applications series. they're a master class in written communication of the "here's the problem we're trying to solve, here's how we approached it, here's the tradeoffs we faced and the choices we made" style.

    4 votes
  2. Apos
    Link
    I liked The Soul of a New Machine. It's a real life story. Very inspirational. Also The Idea Factory. Also a non-fiction and also inspirational.

    I liked The Soul of a New Machine. It's a real life story. Very inspirational.

    Also The Idea Factory. Also a non-fiction and also inspirational.

    4 votes