The most common archetype that new Staff Engineers are likely to adopt is that of the Tech Lead.
Typically, there is an abundance of issues, projects, and people that ask for and benefit from technical leadership. At first, this is exciting, opportunities are everywhere. But as you grow in your role, your exposure increases, but your time does not. How can you avoid turning into a bottleneck? This is the time when you need to scale yourself. But scaling yourself goes beyond delegating tasks to others. To multiply yourself effectively, you have to teach your skills to others, turning your colleagues into technical leaders themselves.
In this talk, I will share different techniques that help you grow your colleagues to a level where they can do a part of your job. I will explain the difference between delegating, mentoring, and teaching, and demonstrate with examples how little effort it takes to turn your everyday tasks into teaching moments, improving your understanding of your own skills in the process.
Passing on your skills and knowledge might be the biggest long-term impact you can have. And most of all, it is a win-win-win situation: your company benefits, your colleagues grow, and you gain the capacity to take the next step yourself.
