The project was a mess, and what did the tech lead do? He went chasing after the next refactoring, because he was sure that the problems were entirely in the way the code was structured. You probably recognize that story, because it happens everywhere. The idea that the tech lead role should automatically be given to the most experienced engineer, the one who can handle the most complex features or who writes the best code, is a common misconception that even experienced managers fall for.
