How technical do technical leaders have to be?


Workshops for technical leaders, in London and Cornwall

How technical do technical leaders have to be? Are you worried that you’re too hands-on, or not hands-on enough? Are you exhausting yourself trying to keep up with every technical detail in your domain?

Sometimes individual contributors are promoted to leadership positions and worry that they won’t be as hands-on as they used to be. Sometimes they worry that they no longer have time to stay up to date with modern technology and / or the state of their team’s code base(s). Sometimes it’s the other way around: Somebody who has never been hands-on in the technical realm is given a leadership position, and worries they’re “not technical enough”.

On Mon 16th and Tue 17th June 2025, I'll be running a workshop titled How to deal with the “technical” in “technical leadership” at LDX3 (the reboot of Lead Dev London), designed to help attendees overcome their worries and figure out the best attitude and approach for them and their circumstances.

Then on Fri 4th July 2025, I'll be in Cornwall at Agile on the Beach, running a similar workshop but in game format - titled Technical Leaders for Humanity – the helpful card game - where participants will make snap decisions that will earn them points as well as laughs, but will then have an opportunity to explore those decisions in more detail.

Takeaways from both workshops:

• How to embrace the difference between individual contributor and technical leader
• How to take a step back from “knowing all the things”
• How to make the most of the knowledge and experience of your team
• How to identify when technical knowledge matters, and when it doesn’t
• How to identify the things you need to know

These are both fantastic events - two of my annual favourites. LDX3 will be a huge gathering of technical leadership, and Agile on the Beach will have a boat party and a beach party! In Cornwall! What's not to love? And I can offer an exclusive 15% off the LDX3 ticket price with the discount code CLARE15.

Book your tickets and secure a slot now at LDX3 or Agile on the Beach.

Talk on Continuous Integration

Or if you're at the other end of the country, why not come see me at BCS Edinburgh on the evening of Wed 7th May ’25 for my talk Continuous Integration - that's not what they meant?

Revamping my Offerings

In other news, I'm currently working on a revamp of my main offerings, and I'll be sharing updates in this newsletter. If you're interested in resources aimed at technical leaders and software engineers, or you're a fellow freelance interested in the techniques I'm using to reboot my career, or you just want to follow what I'm up to, keep an eye on this newsletter.

Happy softwaring!

In friendship,
Clare.

Clare Sudbery

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