The hardest part of becoming a tech lead is figuring out how much code to write. Too much and you’re not leading. Too little and you lose touch. Here’s how to find the balance.

Josh Hornby

Tech leads struggle to balance coding and leadership responsibilities. Coding too much makes you a bottleneck; too little causes you to lose technical credibility. Most tech leads should aim for 30-50% coding time on teams of 4-8 engineers. Focus on work that multiplies team output like prototypes, infrastructure, and pairing rather than hoarding interesting problems. Protect leadership time by blocking calendars, batching coding work, and regularly auditing where time actually goes. The balance shifts based on circumstances like team size, deadlines, and organizational needs. The tension between coding and leading never fully resolves—the goal is conscious choice rather than comfort.

Balancing Coding and Leading