--- title: "Discussion on \"The top 6 things I learned after 6 months as a Team Lead\" | Hashnode" description: "Discussion on \"The top 6 things I learned after 6 months as a Team Lead\". It's not quite been 6 months, but on the 1st November 2021 I took up the position of Team Lead after 4 months at a new company where I started as a Senior Software Engineer.\nI came from a previous company where, although I had not had it explicitly i..." url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a" --- [Feed](https://hashnode.com/feed) / Discussion # [The top 6 things I learned after 6 months as a Team Lead](https://hn.katycodesstuff.com/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed) It's not quite been 6 months, but on the 1st November 2021 I took up the position of Team Lead after 4 months at a new company where I started as a Senior Software Engineer. I came from a previous company where, although I had not had it explicitly i... Apr 23, 2022 · 4 min read · hn.katycodesstuff.com Updated Sep 2, 2022 Read the article - [#leadership](https://hashnode.com/tag/leadership) - [#team](https://hashnode.com/tag/team) - [#software-development](https://hashnode.com/tag/software-development) - [#management](https://hashnode.com/tag/management) - [#programming](https://hashnode.com/tag/programming) ## Written by [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) @KatyCodesStuff · Nottingham, UK [View profile](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) @KatyCodesStuff ## Responses 7 Markdown supported · ⌘↵ to post [Andrew Baisden](https://hashnode.com/@andrewbaisden) [May 9, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/627968547f98319956cd3579) You always have great stories thanks for sharing [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff). [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) [May 10, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/627968547f98319956cd3579#reply-627ad311199297a9505d4eba) Thank you! [Dave Guymon](https://hashnode.com/@daveguymon) [Apr 28, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626aa8187d5d27b992e4c28a) Great advice! Thanks for taking the time to publish your insights. You've inspired me to think about the top lessons I've learned after a year of being a team lead. One lesson learned I would include in my list is that when teammates are reluctant to offer you feedback as their leader, create a safe way to help you grow by asking them for advice instead of feedback. [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) [May 10, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626aa8187d5d27b992e4c28a#reply-627ad35cf543e7a92b80430e) Thank you! Interesting idea too! [Stephen Walsh](https://hashnode.com/@stphnwlsh) [Apr 28, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626a6aa36072cdb96d147a32) Great post! I'd love to hear your thoughts a few years down the road too. I've been leading for 5 years now and it's been a fun journey. Then fun part for me has been the change from the push to have your efforts be recognised to calling out your team members success. It's like my favourite thing to see someone do something awesome and letting them and others know about it! [David Peng](https://hashnode.com/@davipon) [Apr 24, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/6265679fd82f4558aff8b1dd) Thank you for sharing! [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) 👏 #4 resonates with me even though I’m not a formal team lead yet. l learned it the hard way that fostering a team culture that encourages inputs would be much healthier to team dynamic in the long run. [Heri Yanto](https://hashnode.com/@HeriYantodotDev) [Apr 24, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/62655985d82f4558aff8b086) Nice sharing Katy 🤗 [tyler Alves](https://hashnode.com/@TylerAlves) [Apr 23, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626428c20f819f588af76494) Totally matches my experience, especially with #4! When you have built up a large amount of technical knowledge, it is so easy to just push the answer you know is "right". It is such a rare skill to be able to hold your thoughts and solicit opinions from teammates first. In the long run, this behavior is super impactful: leads to new thought patterns, develops juniors, and creates a more connected team. [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) [Apr 23, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626428c20f819f588af76494#reply-62642abe0f819f588af764fc) That's cool! How long have you been a TL? Any additional lessons you think I've missed? [tyler Alves](https://hashnode.com/@TylerAlves) [Apr 23, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626428c20f819f588af76494#reply-62642ec40f819f588af76580) I'm not at my new job but was for about 2 years prior to this. I think #4 was the most powerful skill and the one that was hardest since it was such a big 180 from my previous role. The other one that stands out was that everyone on the team had different preferences for how we worked together. Some wanted direct technical mentorship, while others were turned off by that. Some wanted to be close buds and chat about our personal hobbies, while others wanted to keep it totally professional. I tried to work in line with those cues I picked up on but also to push them just a little bit to grow in the areas they avoided. [Nazanin Ashrafi](https://hashnode.com/@Nazanin) [Apr 23, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626428ba0f819f588af7648b) Thank you for sharing your experience Katy 🙏 [Katy A](https://hashnode.com/@KatyCodesStuff) [Apr 23, 2022](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-top-6-things-i-learned-after-6-months-as-a-team-lead/6264201d0f819f588af7636a/comment/626428ba0f819f588af7648b#reply-62642ac7d82f4558aff89b44) Thank you! 😊