> a team's tech lead and manager can be two different people
Yes, I've worked in an environment like that. I had a "functional manager" that took care of the HR side of things and a "team lead" that kind of led an effort for a specific project. They also interacted with each other about how things were going. I also agree that for small, high-performing teams it can be a very nice arrangement for everyone.
But my point was that the "team lead" role ends up requiring some amount of people management while not taking over as the primary focus for the person with that role, "no idle time for micro management" as you said. I may have been lazy with "a primary focus" as a construction because while I don't think it's >50% of time for a team lead in the structure I worked in or imagined in this discussion, I do think it can be around 20% for that person, depending on how they feel about people management, and the dynamics that exist between those involved, and the size of the team being led.
Yes, I've worked in an environment like that. I had a "functional manager" that took care of the HR side of things and a "team lead" that kind of led an effort for a specific project. They also interacted with each other about how things were going. I also agree that for small, high-performing teams it can be a very nice arrangement for everyone.
But my point was that the "team lead" role ends up requiring some amount of people management while not taking over as the primary focus for the person with that role, "no idle time for micro management" as you said. I may have been lazy with "a primary focus" as a construction because while I don't think it's >50% of time for a team lead in the structure I worked in or imagined in this discussion, I do think it can be around 20% for that person, depending on how they feel about people management, and the dynamics that exist between those involved, and the size of the team being led.