Type of Team Lead: More Programmer || More !Programmer [closed]

Question

Yesterday I had a team leader of another team say that they took a while to figure out something I wrote on a wiki page because I referred to obtaining code from source control as "checking out" which apparently confused them. They said that they were use to Clear Case and had only heard of the term "joining a project" and said that they haven't really programmed much for a long time.

While this is fine, what it then made me think of is the different types of team leaders I've had over the years. I've had some that have been almost purely managerial and I've had those that are programmers that do managerial things at the same time.

Do people have a preference as to what kind of team leader they have? How do you care if your team lead is active in the development of your product? I find team leaders who actually sit and code like the rest of the team more likely to understand things like (from my experience):

• things aren't always as simple as they sound. Team leaders I've had who don't code or rarely code at all believe everything is a piece of cake and shouldn't take much time at all (which perhaps might be the case if you want to hack it together)
• they are more understanding that developers don't always like sitting in long meetings and do their best to avoid getting their team into as many pointless meetings as possible
• they understand what you say from a technical point of view. Those that might not have coded for a while might not be up to speed with a lot of the new technologies, techniques or lingo

I find it much more satisfying to have a team leader who has the mind of a developer and likes to get their hands dirty in the code as well. Perhaps there are some people out there that like team leads who distance themselves from the actual coding side of things and simply doles out the work, or perhaps another type of team leader that I haven't mentioned?

Answer 1

A team leader has to be a coder -- they can't lead the team unless the team respects them and where they're taking everyone.

A team manager, on the other hand, can either be a coder or someone who is just well organised and knows when to ask questions and interface to other management.

It is possible to find both a manager and a leader in the same person, but more often the roles (should be) separate and distinct.

Answer 2

I have no preference, I can't, I have to work with all of them, even though too many cooks spoil the broth. On a multi-developer typical project I have a technical lead, project manager and a non-technical customer. Of course, divisional and programme management will each stick their head in.

There are a number of types of leader, each have their own traits:

Non-technical customer: "The customer is always right." Often wants a moon-on-a-stick. Will call both the management and the technical bods and take the best answer as gospel.

Team manager/line manager: Somewhat pastoral role. Not particularly interested in the project I'm working on right now. Steps in when there is a decision to be made between project priorities. Probably really wants to be a coder, and delegates all the rest of his work that he can to his subordinates.

Project manager: Varying degrees of technical know-how. Is concerned only with timescales and costs. Does not understand, "I don't know how long its going to take, I need to play with it for a couple of days first to get a feel."

Team leader/technical lead: Just another developer, but with more experience. Responsible for technical decision making that will affect the whole project. Often fighting with the project manager to carry out good engineering practice, even though it will take longer in the short term.

Team leader/glorified secretary: Someone who is supposed to lead the team, but acts as more of a secretary. (Usually a grade above the team). Answers the phones, insulates customers from the technical bods. This works fine until they ask a technical question, where the glorified secretary tries to blag his/her way out of it, and eventually they work around the secretary and talk direct to the team.