Why Tech Leaders Should Still Write Code

Stay close to the work—it keeps you sharp and grounded.

A technical leader does not need to dominate the commit history, but staying close to the code keeps decisions grounded in reality. The trick is contributing enough to understand the work without becoming the person every piece of work waits for.

The useful question behind “Why Tech Leaders Should Still Write Code” is what changes in the work afterwards. A sound idea should improve a real decision, not only give us a neat phrase for describing it.

I have learned to be suspicious of advice that only works in a tidy example. Real projects come with history, deadlines, uneven confidence and requirements that move while you are looking at them.

The leadership part is rarely the grand speech. It is the ordinary environment around the work: whether people can ask an awkward question, whether priorities stay still long enough to act on them, and whether useful effort is noticed.

The details will change from project to project. The underlying habit of paying attention travels well.