Crash Course: Technical Leadership
Mentor: Pavlo Polyakov, Principal Engineer at Free2move
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About the course
The role of the Tech Lead is changing rapidly. If in the past the key value was expertise in the code, today and especially tomorrow most of the implementation will be performed by AI agents.
Why do I need this? Will AI soon replace us all?
Agents will indeed increasingly write code. But responsibility for the system as a whole remains with a person — the technical leader.
AI does not take over:
- architectural decisions and technical compromises
- assessment of risks and consequences of changes
- agreement of decisions with stakeholders
- prioritization and direction of development
- leadership and responsibility for the team
It is these human skills — decision-making, communication, systems thinking and leadership — that are the most valuable and yet>unavailable to AI and agents.
What this course provides
The course helps to systematically and practically develop these skills. In addition, he teaches how to use them in a way that works with AI tools more effectively, not competes with them:
- Understanding the role of Tech Lead in the world of AI and agents
- Approving and arguing for architectural decisions
- Managing technical risks instead of reactive firefighting
- Communicating effectively with stakeholders
- Building teamwork where AI is a tool
- Moving from the “senior who pulls everything” to the leader of the system
Who is this course for
- Senior Developers who are moving or planning to move into a Tech Lead role
- Current Tech Leads who want to structure the experience and reduce chaos
- Engineers who are already working with AI tools and understand that code is no longer the main thing
Format:
Duration: 3 modules, ~10 hours
Platform: Zoom. We will send you a link to the broadcast the day before the course, and it will also be available on this page. In addition, all materials and recordings of the sessions will be available on the learning platform throughout the year.
Language of the event and presentation: Ukrainian
Program
9.04, 18:00-21:00. Module 1. Being a leader.
- What is technical leadership?
- How to show yourself as a leader?
- 10 characteristics of a technical leader
- We work to be noticed and recognized as a leader, consider promotion (practice).
- We fill out the Brag Document to find out what you already do in addition to your position, and how this can be used for promotion.
- We set SMART goals to increase your visibility in the company.
- We prepare the next steps for your new role.
11.04, 10:00-14:00. Module 2. Hard skills.
- Modern approaches to software development
- Architecture for developers:
- Practice. We will consolidate the knowledge gained by developing and justifying a technical architecture for the company according to a brief.
- Measuring architecture. You can only improve what you can measure.
- Practice. Defining key indicators for an effective and maintainable architecture.
13.04, 18:00-21:00. Module 3. Soft skills.
- Influence. How can we, technical leaders, influence others? Is this generally good or bad?
- Communicating Tech. How to talk about complex technical things in a way that makes you understood?
- Practice. Using a framework, you will create a simple and understandable explanation for a topic where you are an expert.
- Conflict resolution. How to behave in a conflict so that both parties are satisfied?
- Productive meetings.
- Practice. You will independently design a meeting that will effectively solve the problem and leave all its participants satisfied and heard.
Mentor: Pavlo Poliakov, Principal Engineer at Free2move.
— 15+ years in the IT industry, of which almost 3 years Staff+
— 10+ years in product companies, had experience as an Engineering Manager, but chose the Staff+ track
— AWS Certified Solutions Architect
— Facilitator of the internal Technical Guidance Training for Senior+ specialists.
— Author of the TG channel Pavlo Polyakov: technical leadership and more and articles on Medium and DOU
Previous iteration reviews: average rating 9.5
If you think you know everything about leadership, architecture, presentations and meetings, then you are definitely mistaken. This course drew my attention to a deeper study of the above topics. The practical part is well selected and allows you to better consolidate the material.
Highly recommended!!! Different people have different experiences. Pavlo presents his experience and his vision, which can be useful in your work to achieve results.