Sometimes, a TLM is a more senior person, but more often than not, the role is taken on by someone who was, until recently, an individual contributor. At Google, it’s customary for larger, well-established teams to have a pair of leaders — one TL and one engineering manager — working together as partners. The theory is that it’s really difficult to do both jobs at the same time (well) without completely burning out, so it’s better to have two specialists crushing each role with dedicated focus.
> more often than not, the role is taken by someone who was, until recently, an individual contributor... it's difficult to do both jobs at the same time
So, we take the hardest possible role — one juggling two roles — and tend to fill it with someone who doesn't even have experience with one of the roles?
