Ok so this title is a bit misleading. Blah blah blah goals talk. Well anyway I just spend the past quarter as a Team Lead and now that it's not over but over I want to talk about it. > TLDR: In my past my hater manager said I couldn't lead a team. I've done it and we killed our burn down. Team lead/management might not be for me long term but I'm glad I was asked to do it and I said yes even if I told them I want out. lol ## Background If you have been here long enough you know that I have been doing Devops for 4yrs now. I love the challenges in this space, but I have been holding back. I've known (and been told) for about 3yrs that I should push for more. I've been Sr as an Android Developer and as a DevOps Engineer, but I have never pushed for more. Why? I wanted to be a SME, but wasn't sure if I wanted to go more people management or just be so great they can't ignore you. When opportunities were mentioned about team lead or something to move up a bit more I would nervously say "I'm not sure about that". That uncertainty on direction was heavily played upon in the past by a manager that was a true hater. Well as I made some more calculated risk I decided that everyone was stupid and I would push for the next thing if I got a chance. ## So how did we get here? Honestly I have no clue. lol Started off with have you led a small team? (yes) Followed by "Would you be willing to be a team lead for a Quarter"? (\*nervous laugh\* sure) I can't speak to the why. I might have been told why and glossed over it in my memory. Anyway my team was really supportive. I'm not a micromanager, I just ask that the tickets get done and if you are stuck let me know so I can go bother someone. My biggest adjustment was learning to actually listen to the entire problem/ticket/situation vs just listening for the things I need to do. ## Results It was cool, but I don't think the job aligns with my personality long term. I was honest about this. I told the people who need to know that I just wasn't feeling it despite the kind words. This experience made me realize IC really is for me. I like being in the room for planning things because that's what I do, plan and build systems. What I found hard was the team dynamics. Adults are not your siblings. I can't just zone out, I can't say "whatever. Just don't die", or "Stop being a baby". Ok those are all extreme examples, but you see what I mean. I want the flexibility to part of a team, but can also go off and do something cool and complex. I don't want to manage people and their task long term. I would even go as far as blaming Jira to end this paragraph. To be honest I definitely said something like "this is cool and all, but can I quit?". We talked through it, and I was able to explain what parts didn't feel like something I want to do long term. I'll always step up and do it again as the team needs, but I also secretly pray they don't ask. lol No experience is bad per se. This wasn't bad. This actually proved to me that I was right about pursuing a more technical leadership type of career long term, and allows me to explain why in a clear manner. Also let's be real....SUPER ego boost because so many people were haters thinking I couldn't do something like this and I did and we all came out killing it. ## Should you go for team lead? YES! Especially if you are on a good team. Your team will catch you (mostly) and it makes the experience that much better. Take the risk and if you don't like it just be an IC like me. lol