How to stay motivated when a peer is promoted to Tech Lead over equally experienced senior devs?
Posted by Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 49 comments
I’m in a bit of a tricky situation at work and wanted some perspective.
A developer with similar experience to the rest of us has recently been promoted to a Tech Lead role. The challenge is that there are multiple people in the team with comparable experience, and this person doesn’t clearly stand out in terms of technical depth or leadership (at least from what I’ve seen so far).
Earlier, we had a Tech Lead who was genuinely exceptional — someone we could learn a lot from and who naturally guided the team. With this new change, I’m concerned about a few things:
- Most important meetings and decisions now go through the new Tech Lead
- Others in the team (including me) feel more like solo contributors rather than part of a collaborative unit
- The learning curve and mentorship we used to have might drop
- There’s a lingering feeling that the role may not have gone to the most deserving person
I want to handle this professionally, but it’s affecting motivation and team dynamics in the back of my mind.
So I’m trying to decide:
- Should I stay, support the new Tech Lead, and try to make the best of the situation as a team player?
- Or is it better to look for a switch (team/project/company) where I can grow more under stronger leadership?
Would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been in similar situations. How did you deal with it without letting frustration affect your work?
bustedmagnet@reddit
Being a tech lead is the most thankless job there is in tech. Give the person a chance. Sounds like you have some toxic jealously issues on the team which is unfortunate for the new lead. If you don't like it then leave.
Pristine_Crow5189@reddit
how did the team react to this promotion initially
QuitTypical3210@reddit
Weird, cuz mine blames the team for everything and gets all the credit and promos when we deliver
_1dontknow@reddit
Mine doesnt do either, basically indifferent. So now we have a lead meaning none can get promoted or hired but we also dont get any benefits of leadership.
Crazy-Platypus6395@reddit
I thought that was the managers job lol
_1dontknow@reddit
True, if you geniunely care and do what the role asks from you.
Ive had Leads, Id trust to go to war with but also Leads that thought it means they are a Senior Coder with a better pay, so no leading, no guiding, no managing what the team takes and says yes or no too, team composition, team skills and how they grow and theyr careers. The list of things you actually need to take care of and do, is endless.
I was once somewhat of a Tech Lead, I was stressed all the time but still the most fulfilling role ever. Esp when your team is genuinely thankful that you saved them from that Feature From Hell or micromanagement or guided them properly.
PabloZissou@reddit
Tech leads get fire from three fronts: reports, managers, and product (even when they are doing the best to balance all the variables at play)
Crazy-Platypus6395@reddit
This. Be prepared to set others up for success and not be able to take their credit. It is a selfless job as well as thankless.
xkcd_friend@reddit
Being the Tech Lead does not mean you’re supposed to be the best developer of the team. You need to make everyone else their best selves: both as professionals and when it comes to enjoying work. It’s a lot about shielding the team and managing stakeholders, and working for the team as a whole.
A good TL would take the hard technical decisions back to the team for discussing.
drnullpointer@reddit
> a peer is promoted to Tech Lead over equally experienced senior devs
They needed a tech lead and chose one person out of multiple similarly experienced guys who have experience in the project.
Here is your answer.
Sometimes making decision quickly is more important than waiting for more data and making more informed one.
> So I’m trying to decide:
> - Should I stay, support the new Tech Lead, and try to make the best of the situation as a team player?
> - Or is it better to look for a switch (team/project/company) where I can grow more under stronger leadership?
If you leave without even giving the guy a chance, you are part of the problem IMO.
***
Let me share a short story with you.
I was a dev with 20 YOE. I worked with a junior guy with just 3 YOE. He was also 15 years younger than me.
He was promoted to be my manager.
He was one of the better managers I ever had. He was not trying to force his will on me, instead he listened to my advice, he demanded that I explain it and be reasonable, but most of the time he would just listen and let me do what I needed to be done. He did not pretend he knows more than me, but we discussed how he can prevent his lack of experience becoming an obstacle. I let him know the types of tasks I don't like to handle and he made sure so that he or somebody else handles those tasks and let me focus on things that we thought matter for the team the most.
Give the guy a chance.
jmking@reddit
Exactly. Manager isn't a superior - they are a peer who do a different job that require different skills. Help them help you.
Your success equals their success.
rudiXOR@reddit
Well that's not what the reality in the most companies look like, even though it would be nice.
jmking@reddit
Ok, then how are managers evaluated in terms of performance?
g2gwgw3g23g23g@reddit
A manager is literally a superior who is most cases can single-handedly decide to fire you.
drnullpointer@reddit
There is more than one literal meaning of the word superior.
When u/jmking used the word "superior" I guess he meant the other meaning. A person that is better / more experienced, etc. which is different from a person that is given some process oversight over you.
Remember, in real life frequently your manager is just as dependant on you as you are on your manager.
Some managers do behave as if they were superior in every sense of the word, but that's an illusion and it is frequently a poor way to lead the team.
jmking@reddit
You're right - it depends on how you define "superior".
What I meant was more that management and individual contributor are usually parallel job tracks - in tech companies specifically.
Meaning career growth for engineers doesn't mean becoming a manager.
_1dontknow@reddit
Thats true but its also companies that mess it up due to roles not being regulated in our industry.
E.g. I worked at places where the Product Manager was exactly my peer, we both worked intensively together to reach our software goals.
But had also Product Manager that confused their role with that of the Engineering Manager.
So yeah, a discussion where we say "Manager" doesnt make sense bcs that doesnt exist. Its very important to know the full title, so what they manage and at what level.
g2gwgw3g23g23g@reddit
No that’s not at all what the sentence implies. The sentence as written is trying to downplay the authority a manager has over an employee and paint the manager as a peer, when in most cases they have total power over you. That is not your peer.
jmking@reddit
In tiny companies, sure.
But if the company is large enough to have middle management, then not usually the case, and 100% not true at any company that has multiple layers of management.
g2gwgw3g23g23g@reddit
Watch the recent retired Amazon VP interview and you will understand why for most people, managers have total power over you.
I have had great managers all around but that doesn’t mean they can easily fabricate a story to fire you.
jmking@reddit
Retired Amazon VP? There are hundreds of those.
Anyway sure, a bad manager can make your life hell, just like a bad engineer on your team or even on another team who is better at politics than you can make your life hell. Bad coworkers are bad coworkers.
g2gwgw3g23g23g@reddit
Why would I be motivated to try to get my coworker fired?
It’s much much more difficult to do that as a peer. A manager is not a peer, they are given power and have authority over you. What are you trying to argue?
_1dontknow@reddit
Youre right but I wish more companies knew this.
Opposite_Echo_7618@reddit
LOL
_1dontknow@reddit
I mean true but to be devils advocate theres a huge difference betwwen a Manager and a Tech Lead. The first doesnt need much experience or technical knowledge but the latter needs very high technicsl competence and experience to lead the technical solutions and team in the right direction. The manager has entirely different tasks where maybe organizstional, sales, presentation and whatever skills are needed.
Surely also Manager isnt a title, to further anaylyse this we need to know if you mean Engineering Manager, Project Manager, Product Manager etc. All have different roles and duties.
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll continue working with the team, support the new lead, and focus on collaborating effectively. I understand that there can only be one captain, and ultimately, it’s about the team winning—it’s a team game.
me_myself_ai@reddit
They almost definitely didn’t chose the most deserving person. If it helps, your bosses aren’t deserving, either!
I have no advice other than to treat the tech lead as a someone with responsibility rather than someone with seniority; decisions don’t go through them because they’re a genius, they go through them because they’ve been to all the planning meetings and know it’s on them if this quarter’s goals aren’t accomplished.
Well, that and reading about the alienation of labor and burnout capitalism ;)
GoodishCoder@reddit
We have no way to know if it went to the most deserving person or not. There are plenty of possible reasons why the person chosen for tech lead was a better fit than the other seniors.
me_myself_ai@reddit
Sorry, I was unclear: I’m (cheekily) making the point that promotions aren’t about who deserves what, and even if they were, it’s basically impossible for managers to identify that with any reliability
kaargul@reddit
I definitely agree with everyone else saying you should give the guy a chance.
What I don't really understand though is why this seems to affect you so strongly. You mentioned at multiple points that there are multiple other qualified candidates. At no point did it seem like a clear choice. What was management supposed to do? How would you have made that choice?
This seems like a clear case where management had to choose from multiple qualified candidates and just picked one. Maybe they have good reasons that you are not seeing, or maybe they just hat to pick someone at random. Unless there is a clear candidate that would be a significantly better fit for the role, I don't understand why this is bothering you so much.
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
For cost reasons, the old lead was replaced by a new one. If there had to be a change, I would at least expect the new lead to demonstrate around 60% of what the previous lead was contributing. The old lead was from a different country and had a higher billing rate.
Based on suggestions from a few others, I’ll give it some time—around three to four months—and see how things go.
throwaway_0x90@reddit
You haven't given them a chance yet so your concerns sound premature.
Beneficial_Pay_6317@reddit
They stood out to the people who promoted them. So the rest of you are clearly doing something wrong.
Now go support the new tech lead so they can stand out even more. They might get another promo
Revolutionary_Ad7262@reddit
What is the problem? Are you jealous that is it not your or you want to have someone more experienced than you on this position, so you can learn more?
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
I feel the new person may not make decisions as effectively as the previous tech lead and seems to have some favoritism within the team. The former lead was neutral and fair to everyone.
The previous tech lead also had strong technical expertise, and I’ve seen their decision-making ability firsthand.
This isn’t coming from jealousy—it's more about how important this is for the team’s overall performance.
Revolutionary_Ad7262@reddit
The only way is to experience it. You never know. One person can behave totally different in a new role.
officerblues@reddit
But do you have examples of that or are you imagining a scenario, then getting angry about it?
You need a lead. If no one stands out, you pick a lead at random. Would it be any different if it was someone else? What do you propose they do, instead?
Ibuprofen-Headgear@reddit
A major part of being a “lead” anything, in a team structure, isn’t having the most expertise in every area on your own, it’s knowing who does, how to allocate those resources or who to bring into meetings and decisions, and communicating both directions in/out of the team while shielding the team from nuisance. You need a baseline of technical ability relevant to the team/project, but past that, other things matter more.
tan_nguyen@reddit
Have you tried to talk to the new tech lead?
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
I haven’t spoken to that person after this new announcement. Earlier, we used to talk since we were in the same team. This announcement came as a bit of a surprise to me.
HowTheStoryEnds@reddit
Was there someone else other than you that did stand out whom they should've taken for this role?
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
Yes, there were two other senior members.
HowTheStoryEnds@reddit
If you think that distinction is clear to those making the decisions then a few scenarios could've happened: - they were asked but declined and the decision-makers moved down their list until they found someone that accepted. - the chosen guy has some valued skill that the decision makers value more. If this is the case and you wish to grow in a similar fashion in this company then you need to start learning whatever that skill is from this guy. (Because it's a proven valued thing) - the 2 other seniors are not liked by the decision-makers - a nepo/brown-noser thing
3 and 4 tend to already be abundantly clear from the start and you didn't allude to those.
Neither of these are within your control not do they exert direct influence on your situation but you could profit from 2 if it's the case. It does require a cordial, open, respectful relation with the new lead.
So if you wanted to be the lead but aren't: breathe in, breathe out, let go and go congratulate the new lead.
Majestic-Taro-6903@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your suggestions 👍
superpitu@reddit
The reality is that promotions are rarely based on merit alone. Especially when you have a choice of similar experiences, the promotion will be given to the one that is more likeable. Senior management will choose the person that supports their agenda and is the best asset in terms of their own personal gain. Learn from it and either put up with it or move on.
iamgrzegorz@reddit
Honestly I don’t see anything tricky here. Someone got promoted, this happens all the time. You don’t see why they were chosen, but it doesn’t mean there were no good reasons. Maybe they’re good at stakeholder management, maybe they told their manager long time ago they were keen on taking a lead role, who knows
Instead of thinking „should I stay or should I go” you should write to the new tech lead, congratulate him on this promotion, offer help and support. That’s what good team mates do. Then you see what happens, not much changes for you right now.
If over time you see things are not going well, you can consider a change. But your reaction feels a bit kneejerk and driven by jealousy. Be better than this.
Advanced-Violinist36@reddit
I would not care as long as:
- my pay check is not affected
- he does not make my work harder
he might not give out the best dicissions, but most of the time, it affect the company, not me directly.
QuitTypical3210@reddit
They got chosen cause managers like them better. Get a new job or else you’ll be an IC forever. Tech lead will go to the top
Ok_Influence8600@reddit
I haven’t actually met this new Technical Lead in person yet, so I can’t say for certain, but…
Just to be clear, you’re not suggesting there’s something wrong with the new Technical Lead’s character, are you?
In other words, they’re not hurling abuse or shirking their responsibilities, are they…
I’ll proceed on the assumption that they aren’t exhibiting any such problematic behaviour.
I don’t think a technical lead necessarily has to be a highly experienced project manager.
I don’t see any problem at all with someone of equivalent ability being chosen as technical lead.
Therefore, I would like you to stay on the team and support that technical lead.